Gauteng Infrastructure Department faces a R300 million deficit

30 May 2017

The underfunding of the budget for Gauteng’s Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) to the tune of R300 million for the 2017/2018 financial year suggests that government is running out of funds to provide the expected levels of service delivery to residents.

Out of an allocated budget of R2.5 billion, an amount of just under R1 billion is money that the Province is obliged to pay local councils for rates and services on properties such as schools, hospitals and other properties owned by the provincial government.

In addition to this, the department has rolled over R564 million in debts that should have been paid in the previous financial year that was not paid due to a lack of cash-flow. This further reduces the amount of budget available for services in this financial year.

Out of a budget of R2.5 billion, there is less than R1 billion available to support services.

There are also contingent liabilities to the value of R230 million. These include litigation cases against the department. If the department loses these cases and is obliged to pay costs, the money will have to be found from other line items in the existing budget as there is no budgetary provision for these contingent liabilities, further hampering the department’s ability to roll-out much needed services.

After the recent announcement that the Gauteng Department of Health also faces a budget deficit of almost R11 billion, there are clear signs that the downgraded economy and the poisoned political environment in the country has seriously dented the Gauteng government’s ability to fund service delivery.

Unless Premier David Makhura and the ANC in Gauteng take urgent steps to put clear blue water between their position and that of President, Jacob Zuma, service delivery in Gauteng will continue on a downward spiral and the province’s position as the fifth largest economy in Africa will be under severe threat.

Issued by Alan Fuchs, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Development, 30 May 2017