As roads continue to crumble, patients queue outside dilapidated clinics, and children cram themselves into overcrowded classrooms, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape requested an urgent engagement between the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the provincial department of Roads & Public Works.
A recent briefing to SCOPA confirms that the Northern Cape provincial government does not experience a lack of money as much as it does a lack of management and a lack of project planning. Departments complain about cost containment and blame all shortcomings on budget cuts, but fail to spend conditional grant funds meant for critical service delivery. In the first three months of the financial year, which should see expenditure around 25%, the Northern Cape Department of Health spent just 9% of its infrastructure funding while the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture spent nothing at all.
The DA wants the Northern Cape Department of Roads & Public Works, as custodian of provincial immovable assets, to come explain the situation to SCOPA. We want a detailed report on all infrastructure projects managed or overseen by the department, including a breakdown of challenges that causes delays in completion and causes cost overruns.
I have also submitted questions for written reply to probe the inadequate infrastructure management displayed by the departments of education, health, and agriculture.
Neither the residents of the Northern Cape nor the provincial economy can afford departments who complain about a lack of funds while failing to spend available monies adequately.