R4.6 billion added to Gauteng’s budget
Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance in Gauteng, Jacob Mamabolo, has unveiled the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, popularly known as the mini-budget at the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday, November 28.
A total of R4,6 Billion has been allocated to the various departments in the province to cover the unexpected and unforeseen expenses during the current financial year.
“The 2023 Main Budget is today being adjusted from R158.9 billion to R163.5 billion. The Adjustments Budget is seldom about the introduction of new priorities. It is primarily about providing for unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure, as well as the formalisation of commitments that were not pencilled into the Main Appropriation, such as the energy projects,” MEC Mamabolo said.
The Health Department takes the biggest slice, adjusting its budget by an extra R2,5 Billion, responding to the cost of implementing the 2023 wage agreement for public servants.
Some departments like the Premier’s Office, Education, Human Settlements and, Treasury, negatively adjusted their budgets which means they sent back their unused funds back to the State’s coffers.
The Head of Department, Ncumisa Mnyani, explained that these ‘downward adjustments’ are due to the Conditional Grants, the money received from the National government to implement its programmes locally, has not been spent.
“So the National Departments will look at the expenditure trends in the various provinces and where the trend indicates there is underspending, then they will say ‘stop where you are so we cut and make sure we do not run out of money in the country,” she said during a media briefing.
Only the unused Equitable Share, funds that the provincial and local government receives from Treasury to fund service delivery, will return to the Provincial Treasury.
