The Eastern Cape Education Department has failed to use R530 million of the infrastructure grant allocated to it by the National Department of Basic Education – resulting in the money being reallocated.
The Eastern Cape Education Department has failed to use R530 million of the infrastructure grant allocated to it by the National Department of Basic Education – resulting in the money being reallocated.
Yesterday provincial spokesperson Mali Mtima confirmed that the National Department has transferred the funds to other provinces following the Eastern Cape’s failure to use it.
This is despite the notoriously poor state of school infrastructure in the province, with many schools lacking basic facilities and housed in crumbling buildings.
The Department has given Gauteng R400m, Limpopo R80m and Western Cape R50m of the money that was initially earmarked for the building and renovation of schools in the Easter Cape.
“It is indeed true that the department has significantly underperformed in the expenditure of its infrastructure grant, particularly in the first half of 2015/16,” said Mtima.
“This is mainly because of weaknesses in the implementing agents tasked with rolling out our projects, and also internal weaknesses that we have been working very hard to respond to.
“To mitigate those weaknesses, we have undertaken an intense recovery strategy which we have been tirelessly working to implement,” said Mtima.
He said that, over the past six months, the department has recruited five senior people for their built environment management corporation – including a chief director, two directors, a chief architect and a chief quantity surveyor.
Mtima said that, as a result of these appointments, expenditure was already starting to increase. As of Thursday 3 March 2016, the department had already paid out R735m.
“We are currently processing invoices such as R102m for fencing, R129m for school furniture, R71m for additional fencing projects brought forward, R20m for school renovations, R117m for purchase of schools and R90m to the Development Bank of Southern Africa for services rendered as implementing agents.
“These invoices will be paid out before the 16 March 2016, which is the last day of payments.
“We also have about R250m tied to commitments for current work that will go beyond the end of the financial year.
“This would suggest that, despite the serious challenges, there is indeed a serious effort to respond and carry through all the urgent work that we are committed to delivering to our communities,” said Mtima.
Meanwhile, in Grahamstown, things are still not looking good, as District Director Reverend Amos Fetsha is still reporting for work at the head office in King William’s Town.
Mtima yesterday said investigations into problems at the Grahamstown District office were continuing.
