The Budget, Treasury and IDP Portfolio committee was recently told that a portion of the Capital Budget for the 2009/2010 financial year had been spent on decorative lights for the Soccer World Cup.
The Budget, Treasury and IDP Portfolio committee was recently told that a portion of the Capital Budget for the 2009/2010 financial year had been spent on decorative lights for the Soccer World Cup.
The Electricity department budgeted R119 130 to purchase “fault finders”– equipment that identifies malfunctions in an electrical system – but this was spent on the lights which had not originally been budgeted for.
Councillor Luyanda Nase raised his concern about the matter.
“We take money from other important things. Yes, we all had the fever, but now it’s gone.”
He further commented about the importance of the fault finders as rate payers have been complaining about black outs and technicians have to work overtime to investigate where the fault lies, at great cost to the municipality.
“This thing of deviating funds, if the financial year is going to end you must submit your item so it can be entertained by the committee. They must motivate why they want to deviate from purchasing something else,” he proposed.
Essential equipment
Chief Financial officer, Jackson Ngcelwane agreed that the fault finding equipment is essential. But he said they cannot influence a certain department’s decision in not acquiring an item and opting for something else instead.
“Maybe the word decorating does not sound like service delivery, but with the craze of the 2010 and Soccer World Cup, it is required that we also have these decorations. If you go to cities you will see the 2010 decoration lights. They are called 2010, but they will be required next year,” he said, adding that they can be used at Christmas time or be converted to something else.
According to Ngcelwane an amount lower than R80 000 is allowed to be transferred through an administrative vetting process, but an item that is greater than R80 000 has to be tabled to the Council.
Reallocations rule
Other diverted funds includes an amount of R250 000 that was budgeted by Town Planning for a computerised zoning scheme which was used to purchase two demo vehicles for the same section; and R450 000 that was originally budgeted for a tractor by the Sanitation Department that was spent on a five ton tipper truck for the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Ngcelwane said these transactions still fall under service delivery; it is a mere matter of shuffling funds from one purpose to another.
He added that it is better to utilise the funds for something else rather than not at all.
