NELSPRUIT – The Provincial Department of Human Settlements expects a severe budget cut next year. An analysis of the department’s 2013/14 annual performance plan (APP) puts its expected total funding at R822,2 million for the 2014/15 financial year.
This is a severe diminishing of it current total budget of R1,4 billion. According to the APP, housing development is typically allocated the bulk of the budget, since it comprises a conditional grant that forms the backbone of the department. This financial year, R1,2 billion has been budgeted therefor, while only R653,8 million is expected to be avaialable next year.
Since 2011/12, there has been a steady increase in money spent on administration, while research into housing needs increased from R46,1 million in 2012/13 to R60,1 million this year may stand at R60,3 million next year.
Premier Mr David Mabuza said on Wednesday that he was not happy with the pace of the department in delivering RDP houses. He was speaking at the handover ceremony of 1 048 RDP houses to Bushbuckridge residents.
According to the premier’s office, these were built within a specified 100-day time frame since April. The construction was managed by the newly established Rapid Implementation Unit. According to Mr Zibonele Mncwango, spokesman for the premier, this forms part of his intervention at the department of human settlements following a deadlock on housing delivery. He said that to date, Mabuza had handed over houses built by the unit to residents of Emalahleni, Thembisile and Bushbuckridge municipalities.
Mabuza said he was confident that the provincial government would be able to meet its target for this financial year. According to the APP, the department had sufficient resources to achieve sustainable human settlements and an improved quality of household life.
In the first quarter of this year, the department spent only 9% of its total budget, something that was attributed to the it’s accrued outstanding accounts by Mr Madala Masuku, MEC for finance.
Mr James Masango, the provincial DA’s chief whip, said he was concerned that despite the urgent need for housing, the provincial government would deliver even less in the next financial year due to the severe budget cut. “Although the department’s budget is known to fluctuate from year to year, such a drastic drop is absurd,” he said.
