Lim presents a budget of R51,4 billion
The province has been allocated a budget of R51,4 billion for the period of 2014/15, being 4,6% less than the 2013/14 budget that was R49,6 billion, due to 2013's mid-year population estimates having decreased when compared to the 2011 Census results.
LIMPOPO – The province has been allocated a budget of R51,4 billion for the period of 2014/15, being 4,6% less than the 2013/14 budget that was R49,6 billion, due to 2013’s mid-year population estimates having decreased when compared to the 2011 Census results.
This was according to treasury MEC, Rudolph Phala, who tabled the budget before legislature on Tuesday.
He said the budget included both equitable share and conditional grants.
“The provincial equitable share formula is reviewed and updated with new data annually. The formula has been updated with data from the 2013 mid-year population estimates published by Statistics South Africa, the 2013 preliminary data published by the department of basic education on school environment, data from the 2012 general household survey for medical aid coverage, data from the health sector, and the risk equalisation fund for the risk-adjusted caption index,” he explained.
“Because the formula is largely population-driven, the allocations capture shifts in population across the province, which leads to changes in the relative demand for public services across these areas. The impact of these updates on the provincial equitable share is phased in over three years (2014/15 to 2016/17).
“The incorporation of Census 2011 data for the first time in a decade resulted in significant changes. To give provinces time to adjust to their new allocations, the Census updates were in over three years and a top-up was made available for provinces with declining shares over the 2013 period.
“Five provinces namely Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West and Western Cape, had population increases whilst the other four provinces, including ours, had noticeably reduced population figures,” he said.
The budget was allocated as follows:
• Office of the premier, R335,6 million.
• Legislature, R248,5 million.
• Education, R24,9 billion.
• Agriculture, R1,6 billion.
• Treasury, R357,8 million.
• Economic development, environment and tourism, R1,1 billion.
• Health, R14,3 billion.
• Roads and transport, R3,5 billion.
• Public works, R928,6 million.
• Safety, security and liaison, R84,4 million.
• Corporate governance, human settlements and traditional affairs, R2,1 billion.
• Social development, R1,4 billion.
• Sport, arts and culture, R 302,4 million.
• The government also allocated an amount of R5,1 billion across departments for infrastructure development.
