Province given extension to spend drought funds

THE National Treasury has given the Western Cape administration additional months to spend R74.8 million in disaster relief funds after the DA-led government failed to spend the amount within the stipulated three-month period.

The national government allocated the funding last August with at least R40m diverted to agriculture for livestock feed, R20m to the City of Cape Town to assist in drilling into the aquifers and R14m for relief projects in Bitou and Theewaterskloof municipalities. The allocations came after the Western Cape in November 2015 applied for a provincial disaster declaration, which was approved by the national government last May, 19 months later.

Briefing the joint meeting of portfolio committees in Parliament yesterday, National Disaster Management Centre head Mmaphaka Tau said the City of Cape Town, Bitou and Theewaterskloof municipalities have been given until March 31 to spend their allocated funds after they motivated this to the National Treasury.

This news comes after Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen caused a storm earlier this week when he accused the Western Cape of spending 24% of the R74.8m in disaster relief.

It subsequently emerged that the expenditure on the disaster relief funds currently stands at 40%, and that the unspent funds are committed and invoices still have to be paid after challenges were experienced in supply chain management and authorisation of water-use licences. – Staff Reporter