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Cape Town - The department of higher education and training has asked the Treasury for a R150m budget, and warned parliament on Wednesday that it faces severe capacity contraints.
Speaking to Fin24 on the sidelines of a briefing to parliament Theuns Tredoux, the chief financial officer of the higher education department, confirmed that a bid for R150bn had been made to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan ahead of his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement at the end of October.
The department of basic education has warned of similar problems.
Basic education director general Booby Soobrayan confirmed that his department had made a similar request to Gordhan.
The substantial cash injections required are as a result of the Zuma administration's decision to split education into two separate departments.
The two departments started operating as dual entities at the beginning of this financial year.
Although the 2010 budget allocated R20bn to cover set-up costs, parliamentary committees that oversee higher and basic education have been told that this amount does not begin to cover what is required.
Cost savings and unqualified audits
Each department is operating with a one in five vacancy rate as well as inadequate equipment and systems.
Tredoux explained to Fin24.com that the finance department in higher education and training is functioning below 50% capacity, with only 12 employees.
Director general in the department of higher education Mary Metcalfe commended her staff for the overtime they are having to work. She warned that it was not ideal or sustainable.
Meanwhile, MPs commended both departments for receiving unqualified audits and for cost-saving measures.
But they said performance had to go beyond mere compliance with finance management legislation. Money spent, they said, had to be weighed up against more measurable performance outcomes.
While the departments agreed that outcomes and strategy plans were often vague and needed to be made much more specific and measurable, they warned that this was a government-wide problem parliament should prioritise as part of its oversight role.
- Fin24.com
Speaking to Fin24 on the sidelines of a briefing to parliament Theuns Tredoux, the chief financial officer of the higher education department, confirmed that a bid for R150bn had been made to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan ahead of his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement at the end of October.
The department of basic education has warned of similar problems.
Basic education director general Booby Soobrayan confirmed that his department had made a similar request to Gordhan.
The substantial cash injections required are as a result of the Zuma administration's decision to split education into two separate departments.
The two departments started operating as dual entities at the beginning of this financial year.
Although the 2010 budget allocated R20bn to cover set-up costs, parliamentary committees that oversee higher and basic education have been told that this amount does not begin to cover what is required.
Cost savings and unqualified audits
Each department is operating with a one in five vacancy rate as well as inadequate equipment and systems.
Tredoux explained to Fin24.com that the finance department in higher education and training is functioning below 50% capacity, with only 12 employees.
Director general in the department of higher education Mary Metcalfe commended her staff for the overtime they are having to work. She warned that it was not ideal or sustainable.
Meanwhile, MPs commended both departments for receiving unqualified audits and for cost-saving measures.
But they said performance had to go beyond mere compliance with finance management legislation. Money spent, they said, had to be weighed up against more measurable performance outcomes.
While the departments agreed that outcomes and strategy plans were often vague and needed to be made much more specific and measurable, they warned that this was a government-wide problem parliament should prioritise as part of its oversight role.
- Fin24.com
