KZN risks R9bn budget deficit if govt overspends
KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers has warned of a R9 billion budget deficit if the provincial government overspends on its budget.
The MEC tabled R150 billion budget earlier this year following the installation of a coalition government.
Rodgers says since he took office he has witnessed wastage in government spending.
He was speaking during a media engagement in Johannesburg on Thursday.
"We're not in that position yet, but if we continue to spend the way we're spending by the end of this year, we will see ourselves in a deficit of R9 billion. One of the biggest challenges is the compensation of employees' salaries. It's gone absolutely out of control."
Rodgers described wasteful government expenditure as "horrific".
"Whether it's on vehicles, subsistence, travel, hotel accommodation, catering, there's huge wastage in government. People need to realize, and that goes from MECs down to senior officials, that it's not their money. It's the money of the public," he added.
The finance MEC said the coalition government in the province was off to a good start, however, he said there are already signs of potential conflict.
He is one of the two Democratic Alliance (DA) MECs under the Government of Provincial Unity which consists of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the African National Congress, the National Freedom Party, and the DA.
"But at this stage, from a finance perspective, I have the support of the Premier. If we're going to build a capable and ethical state, then I need to play a fundamental role in stabilising the fiscus in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
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"As things unfold, there'll be issues where perhaps some of our policies aren't aligned. But I don't think that in the main, if you look at what all four parties were campaigning on in the last election, they all revolved around unemployment, inequality, poverty, health, education, and crime. I think all parties."
Earlier this month, Rodgers announced his department was exploring ways to procure vehicles for MECs in a bid to stop the spending on rental cars.
The move followed revelations that R16.8 million was spent on rental vehicles in a period of four months, which would equate to an estimated cost of R40 million per year.
In a statement, the provincial treasury said the move was set to save the province a projected R27 million, after setting aside R12 million to buy vehicles.
