Millions for NC schools not spent
WHILE the Northern Cape was allocated a total of R23.7 million as part of the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) in the last financial year, it only spent R122 000.
This is according to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, in reply to a question in Parliament by Nomsa Innocencia Tarabella-Marchesi, a DA MP in the National Assembly.
According to the minister, the total allocation throughout the country was R2 billion, and only half of this was spent.
In her reply, the minister stated that the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant was not allocated to provinces but to the Department of Basic Education.
“The funding indicated depicts the value of projects implemented per province through the programme and not an allocation to a province. As a result, no funding was withdrawn or returned to National
Treasury as a result of underspending in a province.”
She added that the entire programme underspent by R874 753 000.
“Reasons for under expenditure vary from programme to programme and include poor performance by implementing agents and contractors, inclement weather, occasional shortages of building material and works disruption due to community-led disruptions and industrial action. Poor contractor performance in all provinces and the procedure required to replace them also contributed to under expenditure. The process of rationalisation of small and unviable schools, especially in the Eastern Cape, also played a major role in the underperformance of the programme.”
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson, Geoffrey van der Merwe, said yesterday that the provincial department was allocated an initial estimated R23.7 million for the entire ASIDI programme (2013 to 2017), including professional fees but excluding the project costs for the Sternham Intermediate School. “This allocation was therefore not just for the 2016/17 financial year.”
Van der Merwe said there were originally 27 projects earmarked for implementation through the programme in 2013/14.
“This list was reduced to 19 projects and 18 projects (13 sanitation and five water projects) were implemented by the provincial department of education and the other project, a full replacement of inappropriate structures at Sternham Intermediate School, was implemented by the Development Bank of South Africa on behalf of the Department of Basic Education.
“The eight projects that were not implemented were due to school closures and reprioritisation.”
He added that the department had submitted an application to replace some of the projects. Danie van der Lith