Cape Town - Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said despite the shifting of funds from their budget to other departments last year, they were likely to have underspent in the 2022-23 year.
Zulu was responding in writing to DA MP Alexandra Abrahams, who asked in parliamentary questions about the reason that R755.303 million was approved by the National Treasury to be transferred to the Department of Defence and a further R2.937 billion was transferred to the Department of Public Enterprises.
Abrahams also asked if the shifting of the funds was once-off and what the total value of funds shifted in the 2022-23 financial year was.
In her written response, Zulu said the National Treasury regularly revised or transferred funds of different programmes via the adjustment processes.
She said the R755.303m was transferred from her department to the Department of Defence for the extended deployment of the SANDF in Mozambique until April 15.
She said the R2.937bn was shifted to the Department of Public Enterprises to help Transnet repair infrastructure and assets that were damaged by the floods that occurred in April 2022 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zulu also said the shifting of the funds was approved by Parliament through the Adjusted Appropriation Act.
“This was done after the Department of Social Development (DSD) declared savings. This was a once-off adjustment,” she said, adding that no other funds were shifted.
According to Zulu, her department declared R9.162bn in savings. A total of R2.4bn was shifted to the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies for the recapitalisation of the South African Post Office.
A further R1bn was shifted to the Department of Public Enterprises for the settlement of business rescue plan obligations, and R300m was shifted to the Department of Home Affairs for political party funding.
“Despite these shifts, it is likely that DSD has underspent in 2022-23, to be confirmed when DSD submits its Section 32 Report (and the statement) in terms of the Public Finance Management Act,” Zulu said.
Cape Times