Provincial Treasury MEC Rob Tooley tabled the Limpopo Adjustment Appropriation Bill 2018/19 amounting to R1,1 billion before the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday.
In March government departments and state agencies were allocated funds to use during the current financial year and the 2018/19 adjustment budget takes into account the mid-year performances of departments and determines the necessity for in-year additional allocations to budgets appropriated earlier this year.
Tooley stated that the total adjustments for the current financial year budget was R1,1 billion which is 1,7% of the total provincial allocation of R65,3 billion. The adjustments are comprised of R221 million in conditional grants made up of rollovers of R175,8 million and additional conditional grants amounting to R45,2 million specifically allocated to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for drought relief, he said.
The provincial own revenue baseline remains unchanged at R1,3 billion and R900 million will be sourced from the provincial revenue fund to cover unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure in provincial departments.
A document made available to Polokwane Observer highlighted that the Office of the Premier, Provincial Treasury, Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet), and Transport are not allocated additional funds and Tooley tabled the adjustments as follows:
Provincial Legislature
The Legislature received an adjustment budget of R56,4 million as a reallocation in line with surrendered funds into the provincial reserve funds as per Section 22 of the Public Finance Management Act.
Education
The Department of Education was allocated an additional budget of R226,7 million of which R191 million was allocated from equitable share to cater for the shortfall on claims against the State and R35,7 million for conditional grant rollovers as follows: R1,8 million for Life Skills Education, R25,7 million for National School Nutrition Programme, R6,2 million for Mathematics, Science and Technology, and R1,9 million for the Learners with Profound Intellectual Disabilities Grant.
Agriculture and Rural Development
The department received an additional budget of R49,9 million comprising of conditional grant rollover of R4,7 million for comprehensive agricultural support grant and R45,2 million for additional funding for drought relief in land care and comprehensive agricultural support programme grant.
Ledet
The department’s budget was not adjusted but savings for an amount of R3,4 million, R6,9 million and R22,8 million by Limpopo Gambling Board, Limpopo Tourism Agency, and Limpopo Economic Development Agency respectively will be used to fund pressures within the department whereas an amount of R140 million was reprioritised from revenue enhancement allocation to cater for capital expenditure pressures.
Health
The Department of Health receives an adjustment budget of R190,4 million which included a conditional grant rollover on comprehensive HIV/Aids amounting to R1,8 million, health facility revitalisation grant totalling R88,5 million and additional equitable share budget of R100 million to fund pressures in goods and services.
Transport
The allocation for the department was not adjusted and therefore the allocation remains as appropriated in the main budget. However, the department will reprioritise to allocate an amount of R14 million to transfer payments for Gateway Airports Authority Limited to fund programmes towards compliance with the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure
The department received an adjustment budget of R437,1 million comprising of additional equitable share of R400 million to be transferred to Road Agency Limpopo for road infrastructure projects already committed and R37,1 million for conditional grants rollovers for provincial road maintenance.
Community Safety
The department got an adjustment of R2 million from equitable share to fund pressures on compensation of employees and goods and services, information technology services and hosting of the provincial crime summit.
Coghsta
Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs’ (Coghsta) budget was adjusted by an amount of R90 million from equitable share to fund the Modimolle-Mookgophong Local Municipality’s Section 139 intervention and budget pressures at an amount of R70 million and R20 million as a contingency allocation for any future intervention support in municipalities.
Social Development
The department was allocated an additional amount of R53,2 million which includes conditional grant rollover of R3,2 million for early childhood development and additional equitable share of R50 million for compensation of employees liabilities.
Sport, Arts and Culture
The department received additional R15,5 million of which R7 million in additional equitable share to fund the reburial or exhumation of Elias Moretsele and the Cosafa Cup, and R4,7 million is for conditional grant rollovers for mass sport and recreation programme and community library.
Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
