The Gauteng provincial government’s (GPG’s) expenditure for the 2010 financial year, has been revised upwards by R3,3-billion, to R58,5-billion, compared with the previously estimated expenditure of R55,3-billion, Finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe said on Tuesday.

The adjustment to the budget included R1,4-billion to cater for higher personnel costs in relation to improved conditions of services and occupational specific dispensation (OSD) for educators, doctors and therapists, he noted during a presentation of the province’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement at the provincial legislature.

The GPG received about 95% of its revenues from the national government, while the remaining 5% of its revenues were generated through other sources, such as casino taxes and motor vehicle licences.

The main budget, tabled in June, had set out a total revenue budget of R59,5-billion for the financial year, of which R38,9-billion would be received from the national government, R13,4-billion for conditional grants, R4,2-billion as loan proceeds for the Gautrain rapid rail project and its own generated revenues.

However, it was unlikely that the GPG would realise its own revenue generation projections of R3-billion for the financial year, given the economic conditions, said Nkomfe.

At the end of the second quarter of the financial year, the GPG had only generated 34%, or R1-billion, of this amount, compared with the R1,1-billion, or 45,5%, of the total revenues generated by the second half of the 2009 financial year.

The province’s own generated revenues have, subsequently, been revised downwards by R208,8-million.

“The lower-than-estimated revenue receipts to date are entirely due to the economic downturn, which has negatively affected consumer behaviour,” Nkomfe stated.

The province’s growth rate was expected to decline to 1,3% this year, compared with 3,2% in 2008 and 5,7% in 2007. The growth rate was, however, expected to recover to 4,4% by 2012.

The MEC emphasised that the GPG would, meanwhile, continue with the expanded public expenditure programme on infrastructure-related projects, such as the building of roads, clinics, schools, 2010 FIFA World Cup-related expenditure, the extended public works programme and creating a social security safety net.

About R35-billion of government’s R787-billion three-year infrastructure programme would be spent on improving infrastructure in Gauteng, Nkomfe noted.

In light of the economic downturn and the impact of this on revenues, all departments had been asked to shift resources from noncore to core activities, so that the realised savings could be reallocated to dealing with the provincial priorities.

This had resulted in R87,6-million being “surrendered” to the provincial revenue fund.

Funding had been reprioritised towards job creation in the agricultural sector through the Maize Triangle Strategy, which entailed the development of three agricultural hubs, which each received seeds, fertiliser and farming equipment.

Further, funding had also been set aside to create jobs through the development of social and economic infrastructure, such as the upgrading of roads and schools, said Nkomfe.

A further R215-million had been reallocated to promote education and skills development, while R530-million had been reprioritised towards the health sector to provide additional level 1 beds, to purchase medical equipment and to develop a turnaround strategy and plan for ten hospitals to improve their service levels.

As part of the province’s key flagship projects, R388-million would be spent during the financial year on the construction and equipping of a 760-bed regional Natalspruit hospital.

In addition, R165-million would be spent on the construction of the 300-bed Zola district hospital, in Jabulani, in Soweto, which was expected to reduce the patient load at the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital.

During the year, a further R174-million would also be spent on the revitalisation of the Germiston hospital, which entailed the construction and equipping of a 300-bed replacement district hospital. The project was already 70% completed.

The MEC highlighted that R6-million had also been reprioritised for the establishment of the Gauteng Planning Commission to improve the capacity of the province to ensure integrated planning.

The Gauteng Department of Housing has also received R80-million to purchase land for housing development in Diepsloot, to deal with the backlog of housing delivery in the area.

About 7 600 houses would be built, along with schools and clinics.

Meanwhile, the GPG has also allocated R30-million for the “cleaning and greening” of the Albertina Sisulu Corridor, which comprised the main access road between Johannesburg, the R24, and the R21 at OR Tambo International Airport.