What did KZN’s Transport department spend R1.8billion on in just two months?

3 May 2017

THE Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has called on provincial Transport MEC, Mxolosi Kaunda, to account for his department’s spending of a massive R1.8billion – all within the last two months of the 2015/16 financial year.

The call was made yesterday in the form of a motion tabled in the Provincial Legislature.

The expenditure was first raised by the Auditor-General’s office during the department’s last PFMA audit outcome. The finding prompted Treasury to appoint external consultants to investigate. To date, there has been no outcome.

The DA is extremely concerned by this. The figure of R1.8billion equates to almost a quarter of the DoT’s entire annual budget of R9billion. This in itself demands answers. We need to know whether this is fiscal dumping and whether the DoT is in fact capable of managing its own financial affairs. Meanwhile, the question of what was paid to external consultants also remains outstanding.

The DA is committed to ensuring that this investigation is concluded and that answers are forthcoming from the MEC.

Issued by Rafeek Shah, DA KZN Spokesperson on Transport, 3 May 2017