Provincial contingent oversees local projects

TO minimise financial mismanagement and overspending of government funds, various projects have fallen under the watchful eye of the provincial Finance Portfolio Committee, which recently conducted oversight visits in the  Zululand and uMkhanyakude districts.

The oversight visit to Nongoma follows complaints from the community regarding the construction of toilets for which funding was allocated.

‘I received complaints about toilet building material that has been dumped in communities in Nongoma, with no construction taking place,’ said chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee, SC Nkosi.

‘A lot of money allocated to this project has gone to waste, yet the Zululand district has only spent 82% of its total budget according to a Section 21 report produced by the provincial treasury.’

He said the committee intended to determine what plans are in place to deal with the service delivery backlog in the Zululand district, including water and sanitation.

In uMhlabuyalingana, in the far north of uMkhanyakude district, the construction of a R10-million project to build Jersey barriers was the subject of the committee’s oversight visit.

The money was allocated by the Department of Transport to the local youth, intended to prevent cross-border crimes.

‘We want to see that young people are beneficiaries and that the outcome of this project is indeed, realised. It holds great benefits for the citizens who have fallen victim to criminals in the area as a result of car hijackings and illegal cross-border theft,’ said Nkosi.

The aim of the oversight visits was to ensure the government-allocated funds for these essential projects was being spent appropriately.

‘The committee wants to see an acceleration of service delivery on the ground in the hope that violent protests will be reduced.’

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