Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy on Tuesday revealed how Africa’s wealthiest province will fund the vision Premier David Makhura outlined for Gauteng a week ago.

Creecy tabled a R121.2 billion ($10bn) budget for the 2018/19 financial year in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. The budget is up R9.1 billion, or 8% on the previous year, a significant increase in tough economic times. The province plans to raise R6 billion of its own revenue this year to compensate for cuts to it equitable share and alleviate spending pressures particularly in the social delivery departments” said the MEC

MEC Creecy says the budget sets out how the province will fund its commitment to equity and social justice. She adds: it  outlines how the Gauteng government will use its massive procurement spend to improve public facilities, transform the economy and create work.

The biggest beneficiaries of the budget (see table 1) are:

• The Departments of Health and Education. Its budget increases by R4.4 billion and Education by R3.4. billion.
• The Department of Roads and Transport whose budget increases by R700 million this year. In 2018, this Department will begin planning Gauteng’s first new highway since the 1970s, namely the PWV 15.

Overall R31.8 billion has been set aside for infrastructure programmes over the next three years which include building new schools, rehabilitating health facilities, upgrading roads, renovating hostels to become family units and building houses and serviced stands.

TABLE 1: 2018 MTEF BUDGET ALLOCATIONS

“The Gauteng Government’s R42.2 billion infrastructure spend has made a major contribution to stimulating economic activity, creating employment and raising living standards in communities across our province over the last four years” said MEC Creecy

The MEC indicated that the province’s research shows that this spend contributed R26 billion to economic activity in Gauteng, increase household income by R15 billion and created or sustained 95 thousand direct and 194 thousand indirect or induced jobs over the past four years.

The MEC said that the Gauteng Provincial Government is proud of its track record in using government’s massive procurement spend to drive meaningful transformation, empowerment, job creation and economic inclusion in the mainstream economy.

“Over the last four years R57.7 billion has been spent on procuring goods and services from 12 041 firms owned by historically disadvantaged individuals. Included in this overall figure are 7488 companies owned by women, and 5539 companies owned by youth and 2145 companies owned by people living with disabilities,” MEC Creecy said.

The MEC noted that in these times of rising direct and indirect taxes, citizens have a right to know that their taxes are put to the best possible use, and that this government is not squandering them through poor financial management or ill-conceived programmes and projects.

“All Gauteng Departments and Municipalities have worked hard to ensure better financial management and greater public accountability in the use of public funds. All provincial departments and entities and all Municipalities can now boast unqualified audits with two thirds of provincial Departments getting clean audits,” said MEC Creecy.

The MEC said that the Open Tender procurement process remains Gauteng’s flagship programme to ensure systematic elimination of irregular expenditure. To date 75 projects have now progressed successfully through the system. In the coming year, all new departmental tenders will be publicly adjudicated.