Provincial budget increased by 6%

Provincial Treasury had the 2017/18 Appropriation Bill approved during a sitting of the Legislature on Tuesday. The total budget of the province increased by approximately 6% with most of the money being allocated to Education, Health and Social Development.
Afterwards MEC Rob Tooley told Polokwa­ne Observer that the total budget was R61,4 billion with Education being allocated R28 billion, Health scooping R18 billion and Social Development R2,1 billion while other government departments share the remaining amount. Tooley emphasised that their main focus was on social sector and most of the money allocated to Social Development will be used to fund non-profit organisations (NPOs) and non-government organisation (NGOs) in the province.
“The budget increment made it possible for the province to absorb social workers who were unemployed and we will continue to monitor all the departments to ensure that the money allocated to them is used effectively. We hope that our budget will boost the economy and create more job opportunities,” Tooley explained.
The Office of the Chief Whip of the African National Congress (ANC) in the Legislature welcomed the passing of the 2017/18 Appropriation Bill. ANC Chief Whip in the Legislature Falaza Mdaka was quoted in a statement issued by the office on Tuesday to have said the Appropriation Bill seeks to ensure that government resources are used for the purposes voted for by the Legislature and allows government to assess the impact of the services it renders to the society.
He is confident that the Bill will speed up service delivery and also advance the Provincial Government master plan being the Limpopo Development Plan (LDP), which is highly aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP).
The Appropriation Bill is, in the words of Mdaka a result of multi-party engagement which prioritises the needs and aspirations of the people the Legislature represent. He said the appropriation would amount to nothing, if it overlooks Quality Basic Education, enhancement of the quality of life, safety for the people of Limpopo and the creation of decent employment which should propel an inclusive economic growth.
Mdaka commends the spirit of collegiality among members of various Portfolio Committees within the Legislature and encouraged them to continue to interrogate the Annual Performance Plans and Budget Votes of various departments in order to foster transparency and accountability.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Provincial leader Jacques Smalle said the budget of R290 million allocated to Cooperative, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) is somewhat not enough but yet Legislature and Provincial Treasury expect the department to assist municipalities. He further said when people complain about service delivery, they think of Coghsta. The key focus must be on municipalities but it seems like the Provincial Treasury and Legislature have turned a blind eye on the matter.
“Education has the biggest budget but little has been allocated to infrastructure. The department has about R23 billion infrastructure backlog which will take years to resolve. We don’t support the Coghsta budget at all,” explained Smalle.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) acting Provincial Chairperson Rendani Munyai said they were unhappy with the increment of the budget because the ANC-led government will use the money to benefit politicians in high seats instead of rendering services to the people of Limpopo.
She further said a lot of money was allocated to education but yet the department is not doing anything to improve the level of education in the province. “There are schools without classrooms and toilets but yet the department was given billions of Rands. The allocation of the budget was not fair at all and our people will feel the pinch,” she explained.

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za