Johannesburg – South Africa's nine provinces have spent 22.9% or R75.7bn of their R329.8bn budgets for the first quarter, the National Treasury said in the first quarter provincial budget statement on Thursday.
The statement covers spending in provinces for the first quarter of the 2010/11 financial year, which ended on June 30.
The 22.9% represents a spending increase year-on-year of 4.8%. Spending was R3.5bn higher than for the same period last year.
Expenditure on education took the lion's share and totalled R33.2bn or 24.1% of the R137.4bn combined education budgets.
The spending patterns reflect a 10% or R3bn increase over the same period last year.
Health expenditure totalled R23.3bn of the R98.4bn combined health budgets and is the second largest item on provincial budgets.
The spending represents a R2.4bn increase compared with the same period last year.
Social development spending for the first quarter was R2.1bn of the R10.2bn of social development budgets, while expenditure on
personnel was at 24.7% or R45.8bn of the R185.7bn personnel budgets.
The Treasury said that in aggregate, provinces spent 16.4% or R4.2bn of their R25.4bn combined capital budgets, signifying a decline
of 21.2% when compared to the same period in the 2009/10 financial year.
Provincial health departments led the way in capital expenditure after spending R1.6bn against their R8.8bn health capital
budgets. This is 7.3% more than the same period for 2009/10.
The second highest share of provincial capital budgets after health, Treasury said, was for public works, roads and transport departments with a R1.3bn spending against its combined capital budgets of R7.4bn.
Provincial own revenue collected thus far is at 21.9% or R2.1bn of the total own revenue budget of R9.5bn.
The National government has transferred R65.2bn of the equitable share and R15.9bn in conditional grants to provinces during the first quarter of the 2010/11 financial year, Treasury pointed out.
- I-Net Bridge