No financial direction under Mahumapelo: treasury

Fiscal accountability in the North West weakened markedly during the fifth administration, under former premier Supra Mahumapelo.

This was also during former president Jacob Zuma’s years in office, National Treasury and the office of the attorney-general told MPs yesterday in a briefing on the month-old process of national intervention in the province.

“We are worried that there is worsening of managing public finances in the province,” Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane told parliament’s ad hoc committee on the section 100 intervention which last month saw President Cyril Ramaphosa move to place the province under national administration.

Mogajane stressed that it was not a case of North West running out of money, but of the province failing to respect supply chain rules and use the funds to deliver basic services. He noted that it had “a healthy balance” of R1.4 billion at the end of the last financial year.

“The province is not short of money, but it is failing to spend it on coal-face service delivery,” he said, adding: “Where we sit, supply chain management is a big challenge in the province ... We have a team in the province working with officials through the problems.”

Mogajane said the province had racked up R834 million in underspending, with the departments of health, education and public works being the main culprits, and unspent funds of about R300 million had reverted back to National Treasury for allocation “to other provinces who are spending”. He noted that in terms of road infrastructure, North West had a backlog of R36 billion in work, yet it was sitting with R140 million in underspending by the relevant department.

Mogajane confirmed that the province had accumulated R15.3 billion in irregular expenditure and suggested that the premier’s office had failed to provide the necessary leadership to boost accountability.

The public works and roads department alone was responsible for R550 million in irregular expenditure.