KZN premier Ntuli hopeful president, cabinet will intervene in budget cuts

KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli is optimistic President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet will prioritise urgent interventions as the implications of budget cuts and salary increases that were not budgeted for continue to affect service delivery.

Speaking to media about developments in the province on Thursday, Ntuli said those challenges have especially affected the departments of education, health and social development, making it hard to employ graduates.

“We have many unemployed graduates complaining to us that they are not afforded the opportunity of employment. That is due to budget cuts, the previous salary negotiations concluded after the budget had already been tabled and the 0.2% increase that was unbudgeted for which posed limitations in the financials [of] the province,” he said.

He said the R5.76bn reduction over the 2024/2025 medium-term expenditure framework had resulted in critical underfunding in budget allocations. “This is affecting the department of education’s primary function, which is the provision of quality education and learning in schools. Also affected is the development of educators to ensure they are equipped to provide the best quality teaching.

“Due to these severe budgetary constraints the post establishment which has been in existence since 2008 has remained unchanged despite changes in curriculum and learner numbers.”

The budget reduction had also hampered the department’s ability to process its transactions on the system and pay service providers on time, he said. Detailing the challenges facing the department, Ntuli said payment of R1.39bn from the previous financial year was not released at the start of the new one due to insufficient cash.

These challenges have led to teachers' union Sadtu protests at department offices.

“We urge that negotiations and discussions around these issues proceed in a peaceful and respectful manner, ensuring that teaching and learning remain uninterrupted, especially during this critical exam period.”

Meanwhile, the department of health had a projected overspend of R4.7bn at the end of September, Ntuli said.

The provincial government discussed these challenges with Ramaphosa and cabinet members, which included the finance minister, during his visit on November 7.

“We engaged the president and his cabinet to intervene. We have been engaging the minister of finance but we felt we needed urgency in bringing forth the issues and receiving intervention.”

He said they also discussed other issues plaguing the province including construction mafias, extortionists and crime.

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