GDE failed to spend almost R1 billion

26 September 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is concerned that the Gauteng Department of Education has failed to spend almost R1 billion in the 2018/19 financial year.

This was revealed in the department’s annual report for the 2018/19 financial year.

It is unacceptable that with the enormous challenges facing our schools, especially infrastructure challenges, the department is failing to spend its allocated budget.

School infrastructure has been deteriorating, aging and classrooms are overcrowded.

The environment in many of our schools is not conducive for learning and teaching.

The money left unspent could have made many improvements where it is most needed.

The DA believes that the money could have been used to replace 10 asbestos schools in the province.

The department’s priority should be to replace all asbestos schools followed by fixing all ablution facilities and maintaining school infrastructure.

It is unfortunate that the money was returned to Treasury as the department has failed to spend it.

This clearly indicates a lack of proper planning on the department’s side as this money could have assisted many schools, despite the fact that its budget allocation is not enough.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 26 September 2019