The Division of Revenue Amendment Bill (DORA) offers much needed additional support to the public health sector and municipalities in Limpopo, however it does not address the underlying problems that threaten the province’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The adjustment strengthens Limpopo’s Covid-19 response and will see R2.3 billion reprioritised within the provincial budgets and R1.73 billion of that will go towards the Provincial Health Department. An additional R223 million has been added to the Covid-19 component in the province, which adds up to a total of R361 million which is allocated for this line item within the R3.8 billion Health grant from the National adjusted appropriation. This additional allocation is supposed to help deal with the added spending pressure the Department has, especially as we approach the peak of the virus.
Although the money taken away from conditional grants will be reprioritised and will provide a much-needed increase in the health grants and strengthen the province’s response to Covid-19, it will negatively affect other Departments at the forefront of Limpopo’s response.
The Limpopo Department of Education will lose R280 million of its Education infrastructure grant and this will negatively affect the province’s response to Covid-19. Limpopo currently has a shortage of over 30 000 classrooms, 515 schools with pit latrines and an infrastructure backlog of over R20 billion rand. This reduction will only further worsen the situation and make it impossible to ensure social distancing and hygiene once more grades are phased in.
Limpopo also has a very underdeveloped and neglected road network due to the incompetence and poor financial management of Road Agency Limpopo (RAL). The Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant reduces by R196 million and this will have a long term effect on the provinces road network and will have an impact on the accessibility of healthcare facilities for many people in the province. The road infrastructure in the province is so dire that in the recent past RAL had improperly used this grant on new roads rather than its intended purpose of maintaining existing roads.
The DORA Amendment Bill provides additional support to the province’s municipalities to offset the added financial pressures through an increase to the Local Government Equitable Share. If used for it’s intended purpose, it should help Limpopo’s municipalities deal with the impact of revenue loss, increased indigence due to the economic downturn, provision of temporary shelter to the homeless, provision of sanitisation of public transport facilities and vehicles and provision of water and sanitation in informal settlements and rural communities.
Limpopo municipalities will receive an additional R1.7 billion to their equitable share allocation bringing the total to R11.8 billion. Our concern however is that the additional funds given to Limpopo’s Municipalities will not have the desired effect if they do not address the real underlying problems. Most Municipalities are financially distressed and have poor financial controls, these additional funds may end up being misappropriated or used to settle other debts that are not Covid-19 related.
The Limpopo Treasury MEC Seaparo Sekoati and his Department must closely monitor the additional funds given to municipalities in order to ensure they serve the people of Limpopo and that these funds do not only enrich a select few. The ANC-led Provincial Government Departments need to be proactive and revise the projects in their Annual Performance Plans (APP) to avoid over-commitment of funds and indicate which projects will be abandoned or stopped due to the reduction in certain grant allocations.
The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo will continue to monitor this situation and ensure that the funds allocated will be used prudently in the best interest of the people of Limpopo.