Cape Town - Provinces increased their spending by R14.2bn for the year ending March 31, with the bulk going to education, health, public works, roads and transport, the Treasury said on Monday.
"In aggregate, provinces increased their main budgets - expenditure side - by R14.2bn with the bulk to education (R6.5bn), health (R4.2bn) and public works, roads and transport (R2.7bn)," the Treasury said in a statement.
In aggregate, provinces had spent R305.3bn or 100.5% of their adjusted budgets of R303.9bn in 2009/10, which was a year-on-year spending increase of 15.8%or R41.6bn over the R263.7bn spent in 2008/09.
Spending varied between provinces, with the lowest share of 96.8% in the Free State and 97.4%in the Northern Cape, to the highest at 102.9% in KwaZulu-Natal and 101.9% in Gauteng.
The Treasury said the outcome showed that in aggregate six provinces had underspent their adjusted budgets by R2.3bn.
This was largely due to capital expenditure and conditional grants, which reflected underspending in most provincial departments for 2009/10.
The Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal overspent their adjusted budgets by R3.6bn in aggregate, largely due to over-expenditure in their education and health departments.
- Sapa