Gauteng metros' underspending on infrastructure amounts to almost R3-billion

Gauteng premier David Makhura has lashed out at mayors after it emerged on Wednesday that in the previous financial year the metropolitan municipalities underspent their infrastructure budgets by almost R3-billion.

The underspending was revealed by the MEC of Finance‚ Barbara Creecy‚ while Makhura was presenting audit outcomes of the provincial departments and entities for the 2016/2017.

Gauteng has five metropolitan and district municipalities which include the cities of Johannesburg‚ Tshwane‚ Ekurhuleni‚ Sedibeng and West Rand.

The underspending was largely in the Joburg and Tshwane metros which are being run by a coalition government led by the official opposition in the province‚ the Democratic Alliance.

"Accumulatively the metros underspent on infrastructure by nearly R3- billion and it is very serious because what we understand is the relationship between public infrastructure spending and job creation and that is my area of concern‚" said Creecy.

Makhura said the underspending by metros undermined the provincial government's ability to grow the economy.

He said every R1 spent by government leads to an additional economic activity of 92 cents.

"So we have got to understand the consequences of municipalities underspending.

"The mayors need to understand that governing involves more than appearing in the media‚ dealing with one small thing there. (Governing) is hectic and we want to see that (the mayors) are spending the infrastructure funding because otherwise they will lose that money back to the national government and that money will be given to other provinces and we will not fix our roads‚ broadband and public transport… and in the process there will be fewer and fewer jobs‚" he said.

Makhura revealed that 22 departments and entities achieved clean audits.

"Over the last three years‚ we have moved from 56% to 65% clean audits with all other departments and entities achieving unqualified audits‚" he said.

"I am … concerned that we have not eliminated irregular expenditure and I will once again call the MECs and HODs from affected departments to account to me and advise me of the consequence management measures they are putting in place‚" he said.

Health was one of the departments which experienced irregular expenditure and was in an unhealthy financial situation‚ which has prompted Makhura to set up a cabinet committee comprising of Health MEC Gwen Ramakgopa‚ COGTA and Human Settlements MEC Paul Mashatile and Creecy.

"This committee has developed a financial rescue plan for the department. This plan aims to stabilise the finances of the department so that it continues to discharge its responsibility to deliver health care to our citizens‚" he said.

Makhura said the intervention focuses among other things‚ on expenditure management‚ revenue generation‚ human resource management and governance.

"It should however be noted that a dislocation exists between the burden of disease and patient in migration; and the base line allocation to the department by National Treasury. This means the funding for the department remains fundamentally inadequate‚" he said.