JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng health department failed to spend a whopping R750 million of its 2018/19 budget despite the huge backlogs in providing quality health services, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
This information was revealed in the auditor general’s report which was made public in the legislature last week, DA Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom said in a statement.
The major underspends by category were machinery and equipment (R556 million); goods and services (R338 million); buildings and other fixed structures (R115 million); compensation of employees (R92 million); and transfers to non-profit institutions (R49 million).
These underspends were partially offset by R386 million overspent because of medico-legal claims, he said.
Another disappointment was the R2.86 billion irregular expenditure and R26.7 million fruitless and wasteful expenditure. As a result of the failure to spend the full R46.76 billion budget, R439 million had to be returned to the National Treasury.
"This shows yet again that financial mismanagement is rife in this department despite manifold promises of improvement. What makes the government think they can run a complex NHI [national health insurance] when the public health system in Gauteng remains mired in crisis?" Bloom said.