W Cape adjusts its budget
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25 2016
THE WESTERN Cape government has adjusted its 2016 budget by R908.166million, with R439.464m going to infrastructure development projects aimed at growing the economy. Tabling the Western Cape Government’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the provincial legislature yesterday, Finance MEC Ivan Meyer painted a grim picture of the fiscal challenges ahead.
Meyer said the adjustment estimates were in line with provincial policy priorities. “I have allocated R439.464m to infrastructure related projects, in the main to Transport and Public Works (R216.805m), Education (R142.492m), Economic Development and Tourism for the acquisition of land for the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (R100m), Health (R59.894m) and Human Settlements (R20.173m).”
Announcing an additional R25m would be allocated over the 2017 MTEF (Medium Term Expenditure Framework) to the drought effort, Meyer said the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning will receive R5m to ensure the availability of water for sustainable growth and development.
The Department of Agriculture will receive R10m for food and water security while the Department of Local Government receives R10m as part of a support package to municipalities.
A further R65.293m has been allocated for an array of Information and Communication Technology related projects in the Departments of the premier, Education and Transport and Public Works.
Meyer said the province’s provincial budget was estimated to amount to R56.023 billion in 2017/18, R59.796bn in 2018/19 and R64.083bn in 2019/20.
Meyer said the provincial legislature would get an additional R5m in 2017/2018, R7.5m in 2018/19 and R10m in 2019/20.
“In addition to the impact that global risks have had on our economy which is expected to slow further to 0.5 percent in 2016 from 1.3percent in 2015, political uncertainty, electricity constraints, water shortages and drought has adversely impacted the South African economy.”
Meyer told the house the hard truth was that the national government wage bill, social grants and debt servicing costs equated to 69percent of government expenditure and was not a sustainable fiscal path.“The hard truth is that we have to cut our expenditure to maintain our current service delivery standards while at the same time maintaining fiscal discipline.”