Limpopo’s R60bn budget alarm: MECs under fire for unexplained spending

Limpopo MECs and heads of departments have allegedly failed to explain to the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) how they spent last year’s R60 billion budget.

Scopa is wrapping up its oversight duties for the 2021-22 fiscal year of provincial government departments.

However, its reports have been marred by controversy after provincial departments failed to give tangible reasons as to how they spent their budgets, what type of consequence management they applied to those who allegedly misused funds and how they would prevent this in future.

The ANC has been accused of having acted recklessly and with impunity in spending the R60 billion budget, plus the provincially generated income of more than R1.5 billion in the 2021-22 financial year.

According to status of responses from departments, the office of the premier performed better than the rest, when providing answers to Scopa, by scoring 57%.

The department of education scored 0%, agriculture and rural development 10%, with Treasury’s hearing still to be finalised.

Economic development, environment and tourism scored 0%, health 10%, transport and community safety 25%, public works, roads and infrastructure 11%, sports, arts and culture 17%, cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs 0% and social development scoring only 17%.

Recurring maladministration includes irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure across most departments and a lack of consequence management, which was flagged by the auditor-general in cases where there was a history of noncompliance of the Public Finance Management Act.

The Limpopo Democratic Alliance (DA) expressed concern about premier Stan Mathabatha’s ability to take action against those failing to provide clean reports and taking into confidence the residents on how he planned to turn things around.

DA MPL Desiree van der Walt said her party regards the detail of the Scopa reports, along with departmental responses, as pathetic and substandard.

“These documents are nothing more than a tick-box exercise and copy-and-paste responses from prior reports, with no clearly defined plan and strategy to self-correct,” said Van der Walt.

“The report on tracking departmental responses to Scopa indicates the indifference of the executive and their departments to the Scopa processes.”

She said the defiance by the ANC had just confirmed her party’s long-standing view that “government cannot conduct oversight on themselves”.

“Unless this changes, poor oversight mechanisms with no tangible outcomes will stay put in Limpopo,” she said.

“The DA will continue to monitor the Scopa processes as long as the ANC executive avoids accountability.”

The DA’s views were, however, branded a matter of “a pot calling the kettle black” by the Limpopo provincial government.

“The DA is part of Scopa and as the provincial government, we are all subjects that are called to account by the same committee,” said Limpopo government spokesperson Ndavhe Ramakuela.

“We believe that the committee or the legislature is best placed to evaluate effectiveness of their work. Let the DA subject themselves to the rule of law and such processes.

“If Scopa and the ANC [have] failed, it means the DA has also failed to execute their duties because Scopa comprises members from different political parties.”