Gauteng takes R1.8 billion hit from unofficial spending

The Gauteng government's revenue fund will take a R1.8-billion hit to compensate for unauthorised expenditure incurred by the province's departments between 2004 and 2014.

This revelation comes as the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the province yesterday condoned, with funding, unauthorised expenditure of R1.8-billion incurred by the province's departments.

The department of health was responsible for the lion's share with unauthorised expenditure of R1.35-billion.

This was followed by the education department with R196.3-million of spending and the department of roads and transport with R183.9-million.

According to an explanatory memorandum tabled in yesterday's Scopa meeting, much of the unauthorised expenditure was caused by:

• Emergency medical services transfers;

• Overcrowding in hospitals;

• Migration of learners from other provinces;

• An increase in the number of district offices;

• Learning space for Early Child Development;

• Gautrain funds that were not appropriated; and

• Bus subsidy contracts from North West.

But the departments of economic development, and roads and transport, will have to pay back R22.2-million from their next budgets after Scopa declined to approve their unauthorised expenditure.

The accountant-general at the provincial treasury yesterday assured Scopa that there would be no further unauthorised expenditure.