ANC Gauteng Government has no appetite for accountability

The ANC-run Gauteng Government has no appetite to stamp out corruption and stem financial mismanagement, nor does it have stomach to prosecute individuals found guilty of mismanaging public funds.

According to the Public Service Commission (PSC) of the 87 cases reported to it in the 2016/17 financial year, 78 individuals were found guilty of financial mismanagement yet no criminal action for violation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) was take in 89% of cases.

Similarly, only 5% of guilty individuals were dismissed from their positions – the lowest rate in four years.

The PSC also noted that departments are negligent in recovering monies that have gone missing. The total amount of money involved in cases relating to financial misconduct in 2016/17 amounted to R198 312 821.71, yet the total amount recovered only came in at R282 428.80.

Gross negligence, 17 cases and theft, 52 cases account for the most types of cases reported.

High on the PSC’s radar are the Departments of Economic Development and Sports, Arts, Recreation and Culture who completely failed to submit any finalised cases to the body in contravention of Section 85 of the PFMA.

The lack of willpower by departments to prosecute and recover stolen money is a disservice to the people of Gauteng who will now go without much needed services as a result.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced that he has established an ethics and corruption committee to tackle the challenges faced by his administration, but until there is political will to act, this committee will be another toothless grouping of individuals with more bark than bite.

Gauteng municipalities owed R622 million by ANC Provincial Government

The Gauteng Provincial Government is hampering service delivery in the province’s municipalities as it currently owes a collective amount of R622 105 203.30 to local governments.

The amounts owed are as follows:

Home to the most affected residents, DA-led metropolitan municipalities make up the lion’s share of this debt.

Embattled local municipalities that are hardest hit by the provincial government’s failure to pay back money it owes.

ANC-run Emfuleni, Merafong City and Rand West City owe millions of rands to both Eskom and Rand Water. Emfuleni is already experiencing a decrease in water pressure as Rand Water has restricted flow due to the large debt the municipality is battling to service.

Gauteng MEC for Finance, Barbra Creecy, along with Cooperative Governance MEC, Paul Mashatile, have done very little in turning around the fortunes of these local municipalities and assisting them with servicing the debts they owe.

These local municipalities should have been placed under Section 139 administration to ensure that residents do not continue to suffer under ANC mismanagement.

Both MEC Creecy and Mashatile refuse to take this step because of the embarrassment it will cause to the ANC in the province, as it tries to give off the impression that it has a good story to tell.

If MECs Creecy and Mashatile cared as much for the residents of these municipalities as they did for the image of the ANC, then they would take decisive action and ensures that monies owed were paid timeously to ensure service delivery does not grind to a halt and that basic constitutional rights of residents are not threatened.

The DA will write to MEC Creecy to ensure that these monies are paid as soon as possible because the effects of non-payment will be detrimental to the wellbeing of residents.

DA debates Motion on the State of Financial Governance in Gauteng

The following speeches were delivered in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance, Adriana Randall MPL and DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Graham Gersbach MPL, during a debate on the state of financial governance within the Gauteng Provincial Government.

Adriana Randall MPL

“Gauteng’s financial state: critical but stable”

• In an economic slump with tight public finances, government needs new ways of responding to local realities. It should orchestrate efforts throughout society which actively support people’s struggles to get ahead, not just enable them to get by;
• Provincial departmental budgets need to be fully aligned with the economic recovery and growth plan which has the strategic objectives of restoring growth, building a globally competitive economy and investing in the people of Gauteng;
• A DA government will remove the classic barriers for business formation and growth – namely access to funding, restrictive labour laws and red- tape. This is one of the most effective vehicles to stimulate economic growth and to create jobs.
• The key to achieving successful procurement reform is to embrace technological advancements which streamline processes and are based on the principles of control, transparency and auditability.

The full speech can be obtained here.

Graham Gersbach MPL

“Audit reports expose Gauteng’s unsavoury financial practices”

• Funding on the Gauteng Urban Renewal Programme was found to be used for projects not fully aligned to business plans, by the Auditor General of South Africa;
• Integrated Transport Planning across Gauteng is way behind schedule with Ekurhuleni’s metro bus still not truly operational; and
• In human settlements, hostel conversions and the delivery of dignified housing has been sluggish. Stands are sold illegally, corruption plagues housing lists in the province and the budgets including conditional grant funding are underspent by the department and sent back to treasury.

The full speech can be obtained here.

Gauteng premier must hold departmental heads to 30-day procurement rule

The DA calls on Gauteng Premier David Makhura to include the payment of suppliers within 30 days as key performance areas of provincial heads of departments without delay, giving credence to the Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s commitment to clean up government’s act and grow the provincial economy.

In his 2015/16 budget speech, Minister Nene admitted that non-payment of suppliers remains a perennial problem, and needs serious attention. This fact was highlighted by figures quoted by my colleague, Ashor Sarupen last week, when he pointed out that in January 2015 alone, Gauteng provincial departments had an outstanding amount of R618 million had still not been paid to suppliers within 30 days.

During the 2015/16 Gauteng provincial budget speech, finance MEC Barbara Creecy announced that government would increase its procurement from township businesses from 5% to 35%.

As welcome as the announcement is, emerging business owners would be at a severe disadvantage if they have to wait months before being paid, as they would not necessarily have the financial reserves to do continue functioning.

However, should government departments expand their business dealings with township businesses, and pay on time, Gauteng’s economy would get a welcome boost and potentially thousands of jobs could be created closer to where the majority of the province’s people live.

The DA believes that by amending the performance agreements of provincial heads of department with immediate effect, along with appropriate penalties for non-compliance, township and small business growth will boom.

This approach, coupled with an open and transparent procurement system, will stimulate open competition between businesses, keep prices down, improve service delivery, and in the long run, free up more funds for government to use and procure for other projects and programmes – all the while growing the economy and creating jobs

To this end, the DA will submit questions to the Premier asking whether his office has started the processes to amend departmental heads’ performance contracts, when they will be completed, when amendments will go into effect, and what the penalties (if any) would be should the 30-day payment performance target not be met.

We will also ask the premier what the timelines are for the complete opening up of government tender and procurement processes, and whether Gauteng will have its own tender portal similar to the one announced by Minister Nene.

Premier Makhura and his government are now at the point where they could make or break the opportunity to drive down poverty and unemployment in Gauteng.

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL
DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance 
060 556 4342

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Gauteng Budget Does Not Finance Premier’s Promises

Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy’s budget speech today was an attempt to steer the provincial budget ship in a new direction to reprioritise expenditure to new programmes as government tries to placate unhappy ANC voters.

 

However, many years of poor ANC policy and direction means that there is no more fiscal space to meet Premier David Makhura’s new promises.

 

MEC Creecy has made no attempt to announce efficiencies on salaries, and the DA believes that the wage bill may erode the ability of the government to fulfil its programmes should there be a public sector wage strike.

 

Furthermore, the MEC has tried to create value for money by mentioning certain reductions, no announcement was made on the use of consultants. This in effect means that government pays people to do the job that those it is already paying are supposed to do – putting more pressure on the fiscus.

 

While the DA welcomes certain reductions in administration fees and expenditure on venues and facilities, we note with increasing concern that travel and subsistence allowances have been reduced by only 1,5%, despite Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s call for a 7% reduction.

 

Of further concern is government’s advertising budget only being reduced by a paltry 0,5%. Will Gauteng residents see yet another flurry of billboards in the ANC’s black green and yellow proclaiming government successes as we head for the 2016 local government elections? Only time will tell.

 

So too is the announcement of an additional R45 million allocated to the Legislature’s public participation budget. What more convenient manner to bring senior provincial ANC politicians to the people without dipping into the ANC’s election budget.

 

The more one digs into the budget, the more evident it becomes that the ANC is in full campaign mode.

 

Development corridors should focus on economic development, industrialisation and the creation of jobs, not only on the delivery of houses. Housing development must be accompanied by economic opportunity, which this budget does not do.

 

Development corridors were announced as a way to bring economic transformation, today all we heard was houses without jobs. This while the total infrastructure spend is R13 billion including conditional grants‎, but a lot is refurbishment and social expenditure rather than economic infrastructure.

 

Scant attention is paid to township development, with very little plans or details on bringing business to townships. MEC Creecy only made available R140 million for this purpose, down 20 million from the R160 million promised in October last year, and nowhere near the R300 million promised by Premier Makhura last Monday.

 

While the 2015/16 Gauteng budget may have the hallmarks of an execution plan for the agenda of achieving transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation, it in fact remains business as usual while the ANC tries to placate disgruntled voters.

 

Media enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

060 556 4342

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance

 

Ashor Sarupen MPL

060 558 8303

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance