President will have to tighten his belt
President Jacob Zuma told the nation in February this year that they should "kill that spirit of self" and "not live above your people, but live with them".
However, a report tabled for consideration with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) today indicates that the Presidency will not be able to refund the R28.4 million in unauthorised expenditure it incurred last year through its 2012/13 budget.
It appears the President will not be heeding his own advice.
The Presidency's 2010/11 Annual Report indicates unauthorised expenditure of R45.5 million, of which R28.4 million was incurred in 2010/11. The unauthorised expenditure in 2010/11 resulted from unauthorised payments for, among other things, legal fees (R5.3 million), travel and subsistence (R7.3 million), communication (R5.7 million), advertising (R500 000) and transfers to households (R279 000).
The original recommendation of the report was that, "in line with the provision of section 34(2) of the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act]" the amount of R24.4 million in unauthorised expenditure must be funded by "reducing the 2012/13 budget of the Presidency".
The Deputy Director General: Public Finance, Andrew Donaldson, did not approve this recommendation, arguing that "it is not realistic for the Presidency to meet this expense from its 2012/13 allocation" and that they will therefore be "obliged to recommend another solution".
But what better solution for unauthorised expenditure than an invitation to the Presidency to tighten its belt in 2012/13?
The Presidency has a total budget of R1.02 billion. Surely there must be space in one of its well-funded programmes to squeeze off less than 3% of the total budget.
As the 2012/13 budget does not indicate a budget figure for the President's "households", it is not clear how money can be saved by the President's wives and children.
The National Treasury is yet to appear before SCOPA to discuss its final recommendation.
In the meantime, I will submit parliamentary questions to the Presidency to question what steps they may be able to take to make up for their own unauthorised spending.
The President must demonstrate his commitment to frugal financial management by finding ways to refund unauthorised expenditure in the Presidency.
Statement issued by Dr Dion George MP, DA Spokesperson on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, April 18 2012
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