DA says Mpumalanga Education Department is in financial crisis
Mpumalanga Education Department overspends first quarter of 2014/2015 financial year.
HIGHVELD – Mr Anthony Benadie, DA Member of the Provincial Legislature, said the Mpumalanga Education Department is yet again heading for a financial disaster.
This was after its first quarterly report for the 2014/2015 financial year revealed that while the department only achieved 68 per cent of its planned targets, it spent 103 per cent of its budget for the quarter.
“An analysis of the departments’ performance during the first quarter of the 2014/2015 financial year revealed during a meeting of the Provincial Legislatures’ Education portfolio committee on Tuesday, 19 August that while the department had set 292 targets, it only managed to achieve 198 of these targets, yet the department spent, in fact over spent, every cent allocated to the 292 targets.
“In essence, the department tables one performance plan and budget, has the Provincial Legislature approve it and then simply does something else.”
Mr Benadie said the 32 per cent of targets not achieved might never be achieved as the money to do so is physically not there.
“This tendency could spell disaster for the department if continued through the remaining three quarters of the financial year.”
Mr Benadie said of its nine departmental programmes, the worst is programme five, Further Education and Training, which achieved only 14 of its 19 objectives, yet spent 154 per cent of its budget.
Other overspending programmes include programme two (public ordinary schools), four ( Public Special Schools), six (Adult Basic Education and Training) and eight (infrastructure), which spent 104 per cent, 111 per cent, 103 per cent and 108 per cent of its budget respectively.
Mr Benadie said department will have much to answer for when they appear before the portfolio committee.
This revelation comes only days after it emerged that the Trichardtsfontein Combined School was closed because of the department’s inability to pay its rent.
“Given the financial maladministration of the department, occurrences such as Trichardtsfontein are not surprising, with a bleak financial outlook for the department if the current performance is allowed to continue for the remainder of the financial year,” Mr Benadie.
Mr Jasper Zwane, spokesman for the department, said the DA has blown the issue out of proportion because the portfolio committee was happy about the department’s report.
