Gauteng Provincial Government departments return millions of rands to National Treasury while failing to deliver houses and maintain road infrastructure
25 March 2022
Gauteng residents are currently enduring very bad roads that are littered with many potholes, while the Department of Roads and Transport had to return R51.8 million to the treasury due to poor spending of the Provincial Road Maintenance Grant.
In addition to this, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements also failed to spend R20 million of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Partnership Grant and the money was also returned to the treasury.
It is for this reason that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has not supported the Second Adjustment Appropriations Bill of 2022 because these two departments have failed to spend on their allocated grants.
It is unacceptable that our residents now need to suffer because government departments are unable to do effective planning at the start of each financial year and manage their funds properly to ensure that services are delivered to our people.
Gauteng’s roads are in a terrible state, and this has a huge impact on whether goods and services that are delivered by road can reach their destinations on time and in perfect condition.
Further to this, our motorists will also be subjected to higher insurance premiums if they are constantly claiming from their insurers because of damage sustained while driving on roads that are not well and properly maintained.
Recent surveys conducted around the procurement of goods and services in the Department of Transport found that 91% of contractors felt that government procurement processes were not open and transparent, while 57% of the respondents felt that corruption is pertinent during the procurement and tender phases of the infrastructure cycle.
It is imperative that Gauteng has a well-developed and maintained road network as this is crucial for economic growth to take place. The DA is of the view that the department is not functioning well enough to contribute positively to the province’s economic growth potential.
The Department of Human Settlements returned R20 million allocated as part of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Partnership Grant, due to poor planning and prolonged supply chain processes, which resulted in the delay in appointing service providers.
This grant was introduced in the 2020/21 financial year to provide beneficiaries with access to basic services and security of tenure over the Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the period 2019-2024.
The constant immigration of people into our province compels the Department of Human Settlements to utilise this grant to its fullest to ensure access to dignified housing for our residents.
The DA demands that the Gauteng Provincial Government ensures that all policies and interventions that have been put in place to ensure the growth of this province are implemented properly and immediately.
We cannot continue to have a situation where our residents are always on the losing end because this government is failing to ensure that the budget set aside for each department is spent properly and to the benefit of our residents.
It is time that this trend of continuing with business-as-usual ends and that decisive action is taken against accounting officers, and the executive, who fail to meet the poverty and inequality reduction targets set for 2030.
Issued by Adriana Randall, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance and e-Government, 25 March 2022
