Office of the Premier allocated budget of R42.68 million
Premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha tabled his office's budget speech on Tuesday, 27 March with this year's budget mainly allocated for administration, institutional support as well as policy and governance.
POLOKWANE – During the tabling at the Legislature in Lebowakgomo, the Office of the Premier was allocated a budget of R420,68 million for the 2018/19 financial year with the medium term estimates for the 2019/20 and 2020/11 financial years being R437,27 million and R461,32 million respectively.
Altogether R164,53 million has been earmarked for administration, R156,32 million for institutional support and R99,83 million for policy and governance.
As at the end of February, the Office had spent 89% of its allocated 2017/18 budget of R405 million, compared to 87% spent on the final budget of R379,76 million at the same time in the previous financial year.
Matahabatha said it was approximately a year before the planned democratic national elections, a yardstick to determine the legitimacy of those who rule and those who are ruled.
He added the demands for efficient service delivery becomes more desperate and the modern civil servant needs to be capacitated to meet any demand expected of them.
The Office of the Premier, in consultation with the Public Service Commission, initiated a senior management (SMS) capacity building programme to offer, in conjunction with an institution of higher learning, governance and risk, supply chain management, monitoring and evaluation, finance and fiscal management as well as project management.
“Thus far, 107 SMS members have participated in this programme,” Mathabatha said and he instructed more efforts be made so the 50% female representation target at SMS level within the administration be reached.
All vacant HOD positions have been filled with the vacancy in the public works department, due to the resignation of the HOD at the end of December 2017, will be filled soon.
In addition, the Office of the Premier has developed a strategic framework supporting departments to address weaknesses within their administration after various bodies and institutions such as the Public Service Commission, the Auditor General, Audit Committees and Portfolio Committees raised concerns. The strategy aims to support departments to fulfil their legal and constitutional mandates and to improve compliance with basic and minimum regulatory and legislative framework.
An automated monitoring and evaluation system will be used at different levels to monitor, manage and take informed decisions towards improving service delivery.
Mathabatha said the chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Forum, launched in 2015, should be appointed from the civil society as a way of strengthening the fight against corruption. “We cannot be referees and players at the same time,” he explained.
The Office of the Premier has already commissioned forensic audits to deal with corruption, investigating irregular expenditure in procurement within the Department of Agriculture and Rural Department, the Tubatse land acquisition case and other cases in the pipeline. “The presidential and premier hotlines continue to be vehicles our communities can use to report and expose service delivery complaints,” Mathabatha said, adding a water summit will soon be held to adopt a water management plan and to develop strategies to curb water challenges in Limpopo.
He announced that, in terms of the employment of people with disabilities, the province has reached and complied with the 2% equity target at SMS level, adding the Limpopo Youth Development Strategy will be finalised within the coming few months.
The province’s e-Government Strategy will be finalised in the 2018/19 financial year and will ensure citizens have access to government’s services without travelling long distances as well as include the availability of free Wifi for all people within Polokwane’s central business district where many people, including several colleges, are based.
Mathabatha said his office will continue to lead the province in creating mutually rewarding relations in the areas of trade and investment, including social and cultural issues within the region.
“My office is in the process of collaborating with the political leadership of Matebeleland District and the City of Bulawayo with the aim of resuscitating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2001 to facilitate the Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative which will come in handy as we develop the Musina/Makhado Special Economic Zone and create much-needed job opportunities in the province,” Mathabatha said.
