Cape Town – Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says the National Treasury has had to make several adjustments to the budget of national departments to cater for unavoidable spending needs.
Tabling the mini budget in the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister said funds have had to be moved from less urgent areas to enable the Department of Health to implement measures aimed at protecting the country’s borders to curb the spread of the Ebola virus.
“As in past years, there are various shifts of funds and minor adjustments,” he said.
This includes:
- R157 million channelled to the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to repair infrastructure damaged by disasters, and R35 million for emergency water and sanitation interventions;
- R32.6 million for the Department of Health for Ebola control and prevention measures, including support for affected countries; and
- R350 million for International Relations and Cooperation to compensate for the depreciation of the rand.
“The Adjustment Appropriation also includes R620 million for the digital broadcast migration programme, as indicated in the February budget speech,” the Minister said.
Other notable adjustments that could not be avoided include R36 million for emergency national government interventions, of which R19.6 million was poured into the Lekwa-Taemane Local Municipality for the operations and maintenance of the waste water treatment and bulk water treatment plants; and R15 million for Madidi and Giyani in Limpopo in respect of borehole augmentation projects.
The funeral of the late former statesman President Nelson Mandela also necessitated several departments to commit to unavoidable expenditures.
The Department of Trade and Industry spent R33.7 million for the establishment of the Department of Small Business Development, which President Jacob Zuma announced in May following his inauguration.
Government Information and Communication System (GCIS) and Environmental Affairs spent R12 million each to set up their new respective ministries. – SAnews.gov.za
