Provincial Treasury Budget Address

Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Honourable Premier and Cabinet Colleagues

Honourable Leader of the Opposition

Honourable Members of the Western Cape Legislature

Colleagues

Citizens of the Western Cape

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Provincial Treasury’s Budget Vote 3 is R325,3 million in 2018/19.

Deputy Speaker, key areas of focus and delivery for the 2018/19 financial year entail the continuation of key themes.

These themes are located in Provincial Strategic Goal (PSG) 5, which seeks to embed good governance and integrated service delivery through partnerships and spatial alignment.

Deputy Speaker, we will continue to build on our past successes by strengthening our Good Financial Governance brand as this clearly differentiates the Western Cape Government from the rest of South Africa.

Research and analysis will therefore be conducted to inform the development of the provincial and local government’s fiscal frameworks, budget policy and the sustainability of provincial and municipal revenue budgets.

The Department will continue to provide support initiatives and advice and guidance to departments and municipalities on revenue related and cash management matters through analysis and reporting on the in-year cash flow, investments and external borrowings for local government as well as revenue performance and cash management for the provincial government.

Provincial Treasury will also maintain departmental oversight over the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB).

In support of the WCGRB’s stated vision to be the leading gambling and racing regulatory authority in South Africa the Department has allocated R29,3m to the WCGRB.

Deputy Speaker, R19,8m is allocated to support our budget management initiatives.

The Provincial Government Budget Office will focus on the alignment of policy, planning and budgeting processes with an emphasis on impact evaluations and assessments of budget priorities and spending patterns.

The Provincial Budget Office will further focus on research, analysis and assessments to:

• support provincial departments on budget policy matters and
•  to inform the formulation of the provincial budget policy
• to recommend allocations in line with government’s strategic priorities outlined in the Provincial Strategic Plan and other applicable national policies.

The Provincial Budget Office will also continue to coordinate the Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (PERO) and the Western Cape Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (WC MTBPS) and provide the economic, fiscal and policy context within which the provincial budget is formulated.

Through the Overview of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure, the Provincial Budget Office will communicate the budget policy framework and budget priorities that support the delivery of the WCG’s policies, programmes and projects that drives service delivery within the Province.

The Local Government Budget Office will provide research, advice and analysis on the regional and local economies to identify issues and trends which impact on local government planning, budget and fiscal policy matters. It is my intention to further strengthen our Local Government Budget Office.

Research and analysis will also once again culminate in the release of the annual Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) and the Socio-economic Profiles for Local Government (SEP-LG).

Guidance and advice is provided through the municipal planning and budgetary processes to promote evidenced-based budgeting.

Deputy speaker, Public Finance is allocated R87,8m. This includes an amount of R38,3m towards the Financial Management Support Grant for municipalities.

Provincial Government Finance assesses provincial budgets to improve the credibility and sustainability of the budget and monitors the implementation of budgets to enhance accountability, efficiency and data integrity.

Local Government Finance will continue to facilitate and co-ordinate the implementation of the MFMA in Provincial Treasury and municipalities.

Implementation of the MFMA will be driven through IGR coordination between municipalities, provincial national departments and other related stakeholders.

 Key responsibilities include monitoring, support and intervention, including being responsive to support particularly vulnerable municipalities, in respect of MFMA implementation, budget implementation and revenue and expenditure management.

Deputy Speaker, Provincial Treasury’s Infrastructure initiatives will focus on the institutionalisation of the Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management (SIPDM) and IDMS in Provincial Departments and the further roll-out and institutionalisation of the SIPDM and IDMS within the municipal sphere of government.

Deputy Speaker, Programme Financial Governance is allocated R42,2m.

The Provincial Treasury provides technical support to departments and municipalities and ensures that governance and financial management improves through the application of the accounting framework, training programmes and regular Corporate Governance and Review action plans.

We will continue with our focus on improved financial governance which is driven through the Corporate Governance Review and Outlook (CGRO) for departments and the Municipal Governance Review and Outlook (MGRO) for municipalities, strategies.

Processes are underway to align these strategies with those of the Departments of the Premier and Local Government to improve efficiencies under the banner of PSG5.

Municipalities were assisted with the implementation of the new Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts, mSCOA, which became effective 1 July 2017.

This was a major business and system reform process which naturally came with its challenges. We will continue to provide support to municipalities until such time that these challenges have been addressed

Deputy Speaker Provincial Treasury is committed to youth development.

For the 2018/19 financial year, the Capacity Building Programme, Graduate Trainees/Interns, has an allocated budget of R14.5 million while a further amount of R3.12 million is set aside for bursaries.

Twenty-eight interns commenced their Internship on 1 March 2018.

A further 32 PAY (Premiers Advancement of Youth) Interns will commence their internship on 9 April 2018

Our Chartered Accountant Academy which aims to create a pipeline of public sector accounting professionals is bearing fruit. The budget for the 2018/19 financial year amounts to R5.7 million.

Accountant trainees have increased from the initial seven to 15.

Three trainee accountants have successfully completed the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting and two trainees are awaiting their results in the Initial test of competence.

Deputy Speaker, R27,5m is allocated towards stepping up our focus on using procurement for economic development.

During the 2018/19 financial year, the Department will be seeking to conclude a strategic partnership for the provision of a supplier management and electronic procurement solution.

The acquisition is intended to support Government's overall strategy for improvement in value for money, competitiveness among suppliers and the provision of a convenient and accessible means to do business with Government.

It is furthermore intended to maintain and build on the levels of policy standardisation and good governance that the WCG has

progressively established since the inception of its SCM Modernisation drive.

At the commodity level, the Department will identify appropriate transversal contract opportunities and adopt National Treasury's

Strategic Sourcing Framework with a key focus on the areas of Demand and Contract Management.

In addition, Cabinet is monitoring the implementation of preferential procurement and has instructed that a provincial economic procurement policy be developed to ensure that any target setting is focused and will generate the necessary value as intended by the preferential procurement regulations.

Deputy Speaker, the Economic Procurement Policy lies at the core of the Provincial Treasury’s contribution to economic growth and job creation. We can already report that at least 30% of our provincial procurement spend was directed to small black businesses.

Deputy Speaker, Provincial Treasury’s vision is Good Financial Governance.  In the previous financial year, we signed a Good Financial Governance Declaration. I want to report to this House that we are indeed making good progress in implementing these good governance principles across both provincial departments and municipalities in the Western Cape.

Deputy Speaker in order to achieve its planned objectives the Provincial Treasury has allocated its 2018/19 departmental budget R325,3 million as follows:

Programme 1 - R61,1 million 

Programme 2 -  R159,4 million

Programme 3 - R62,5 million and

Programme 4 - R42,2 million.

I thank you.