Gauteng Health failed to spend a whopping R750m of its 2018/19 budget despite the huge backlogs in providing quality health services. IoL reports that this is according to the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom who said the information was revealed in the auditor general’s report which was made public in the legislature last week.
The major underspends by category were machinery and equipment (R556m); goods and services (R338m); buildings and other fixed structures (R115m); compensation of employees (R92m); and transfers to non-profit institutions (R49m). These underspends were partially offset by R386m overspent because of medico-legal claims, he said.
The report says another disappointment was the R2.86bn irregular expenditure and R26.7m fruitless and wasteful expenditure. As a result of the failure to spend the full R46.76bn budget, R439m had to be returned to the National Treasury. "This shows yet again that financial mismanagement is rife in this department despite manifold promises of improvement. What makes the government think they can run a complex NHI (national health insurance) when the public health system in Gauteng remains mired in crisis?" Bloom said.
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/gauteng-health-slated-for-failing-to-spend-r750m-of-its-budget-despite-backlogs-34843741"]IoL report[/link]