‘Dept doomed to repeat mistakes’
THE DA in the Northern Cape has accused the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) of failing to address any of the “serious deficiencies” in financial management at the department.
In his response to the presentation of the department’s budget yesterday, DA provincial leader Andrew Louw stated that by failing to table any feasible, practical strategies to improve financial management and to manage fiscal pressures appropriately, it was “abundantly clear that the department has wilfully doomed itself to repeat the mistakes of the past”.
“Proper financial management lies at the core of a department’s ability to deliver on its mandate. The budget is about more than just how much money a department gets, it is also about that department’s ability to turn its money into service delivery. When we approve a budget, we are not just approving the intended expenditure; we are also saying that we have trust that the department can deliver on its strategic outcomes,” Louw said.
“We give money to this department to build houses for the poor and the needy. We give money to this department to develop integrated human settlements, which allow for safe and healthy environments to be created. We give money to this department to assist municipalities in improving their performance, so that residents can benefit from better services. If we know that the department cannot manage its resources properly, we know that these outcomes will not materialise.”
Louw stated that it should be a standard practice that all departmental activities were costed and linked with a specific strategic outcome, but added that this was an “entirely new approach” to the department.
Louw added that the department’s statement that the Northern Cape Provincial Treasury had introduced measures to address financial management, was “no reassurance at all”.
“We know, from annual reports submitted and signed off by the department, that the department has failed to adhere to the remedial measures implemented by Treasury to prevent overspending. The efficacy of Treasury’s measures depends on the willingness of the department to implement them – and we can see that the department has been very reluctant to do so in the past.”
He went on to say that the reports submitted by the department throughout the previous year, indicated that there were “serious difficulties” in managing the budget as approved in the main appropriation.
“The revised estimates for 2016/17 are significantly higher than the amounts allocated in the main appropriation, with spending on goods and services alone 67 percent higher than the original estimate. While a department may certainly run into unexpected difficulties or circumstances which necessitate an increase in funding, it is almost impossible to justify an increase of 67 percent. Such an increase would rather indicate poor planning and unrealistic budget projections at the start of the financial year.
“I would like to note that officials from the department agreed with the notion that their budget projections are not realistic. If the department itself tells you that its budget is not realistic, you have no choice but to send them back to the drawing board to draft a realistic budget,” Louw said.
The ANC in the province, in turn, applauded the department for the “consistent and deliberate project to provide human settlements”.
“We are pleased that the main focus of the housing delivery remains the poorest of the poor, many of whom are in and around informal settlements,” ANC provincial Secretary, Deshi Ngxanga, said.
“Our freedom is indeed hard earned, the ANC therefore commends the department in ensuring that those that were in the forefront, the military veterans also receive decent housing,”
Ngxanga added that the ANC welcomed the department’s efforts in supporting local government in ensuring that it appoints skilled and competent senior managers that would ensure that municipalities were effectively managed in order to adequately deliver services to the people.
“We are of the view that their efforts have ensured that most
municipalities that were in debt with Eskom have now paid off their debts and some are in the process of paying off their debt. This comes as a relief to our people, especially in the winter season.
“We acknowledge the work done by the department to eradicate the bucket system, enabling our people to have flushing toilets and therefore restoring their dignity,” Deshi concluded.