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Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) departments spent R18 billion in the first quarter of the financial year, R6 billion spent during the month of June alone. This expenditure amounts to approximately 26% of the 2012/13 Provincial Budget of R69.3 billion.

The information is contained in the GPG Revenue, Expenditure and Cash Flow Report for the First Quarter of 2012, as well as spending on conditional grants for the same period. This report will cover the first three months (1 April – 30 June 2012).

MEC Mandla Nkomfe says this expenditure indicates that the provincial government is making progress in implementing programmes aimed at accelerating access to quality basic public services to citizens in order to realise the provincial outcomes. These are:

• Quality education
• A long and healthy life for all South Africans
• Decent employment through inclusive growth
• Ensuring all people in South Africa are and feel safe
• Vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all
• Sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life
• A responsive, accountable, efficient and effective local government system
• An efficient, effective and development-oriented public service, and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.

The social sector (health, education and social development) which accounts for 77% of the total provincial budget was the main driver of expenditure recorded in the period to June. The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) spent R7.5 billion or 27% of the allocated budget of R27.2 billion, and this amount went to key areas related to the department’s mandate including transfers to schools, scholar transport, training and development and National Schools Nutrition Programme.

Both GDE and the Gauteng Department of Health made significant progress in addressing accruals during this period. Total accruals for GDE at the beginning of the financial year amounted to R1.06 billion, the department managed to settle a total of R998.6 million by June 2012.

The remaining R61 million will be paid before the end of the financial year.The Gauteng Department of Health also reported accelerated expenditure during this period. The department spent R7.2 billion or 29% of its budget of R24.5 billion. This amount was spent on, amongst other things, addressing accruals and funding key programmes including emergency medical services, district medical services, provincial hospital services and central hospital services.

The Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) reported lower than projected expenditure in the first quarter representing approximately 18% of the total budget. It is worth noting that this picture is expected to improve significantly in the coming months as historical trends indicate that capital expenditure tends to speed up during the second half of the financial year.

DID’s project pipeline is as follows:

9 projects are ready for tender
29 projects completed within budget and on time
10 planned maintenance projects were approved
3 projects were awarded.

Nkomfe says the Gauteng Provincial Treasury is working closely with DID to improve spending on infrastructure in the province. “The Gauteng Provincial Treasury and DID have developed a joint programme to accelerate infrastructure spending.

The programme includes identifying quick wins within infrastructure allocation to ensure that this pattern is reduced, more emphasis is to be directed towards the maintenance of our health facilities,” Nkomfe adds.