Cape Town – Under-expenditure of the allocated budget has become a norm for the Gauteng Social Development Department and can no longer be tolerated, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
The DA in Gauteng was deeply concerned that the department constantly underspent on its budget, social development spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe said in a statement.
"This was revealed in the department’s third quarterly report for the 2019/20 financial year. According to the report, the department has underspent by R552.8 million.
"The department has underspent across all its programmes, yet they are unable to provide funding to NGOs who are in desperate need of funds," she said.
"The department underspent R189.8 million in programme three: children and families. In programme five: development and research, they underspent by R174.1 million, and R109.5 million on programme one: administration.
"The department also underspent R56.7 million on programme four: restorative services, and R24.4 million on programme two: social welfare services.
"Under-expenditure of the allocated budget has become a norm for this department and can no longer be tolerated," Nt’sekhe said.
In the 2017/18 financial year, the department underspent by R104.4 million, and in the 2018/19 financial year, the under-expenditure increased to R419.1 million.
Despite the department’s under-expenditure and under-performance, the head of department’s contract had been renewed. This clearly indicated a lack of consequence management.
"This department lacks a political captain to lead and oversee the functions of this department because the current acting MEC Panyaza Lesufi has a lot on his plate.
"We will continue to put pressure on Gauteng premier David Makhura to appoint a full-time MEC for the department to ensure that social services are delivered to our people," Nt’sekhe said.