Establishing the Provincial State-Owned Bank and the Provincial State-Owned Pharmaceutical Company in Gauteng will cost the province much more than the R15,3 million already spent on feasibility studies.
While the feasibility studies have not yet been made public because they are waiting for approval from the executive committee at the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA), the money spent is exorbitant.
This information was revealed by MEC for Finance, Lebogang Maile, in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). According to MEC Maile, the cost of establishing these two new provincial state entities can only be determined once the business case has been finalised and approved.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) maintains that establishing two new provincial entities is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Instead, the R15 million spent on feasibility studies could have been used to improve service delivery or capacitate state entities like GIFA to carry out the duties of the two new proposed entities.
Gauteng is facing a financial crisis and needs to pay the e-Toll debt, and additional funding will be needed for two new state-owned provincial entities. Entities like the ones proposed are known for becoming a feeding trough for only a few politically connected individuals, with service delivery still being non-existent.
The DA will request the chairperson of the finance portfolio committee, Andiswa Mosai to ask the MEC to make the feasibility studies available to the Finance Portfolio Committee so that we can ensure that all due processes have been followed and ascertain how the money has been spent.
A DA government will ensure that existing state-owned entities in the province are given the necessary resources to execute their mandate to grow the Gauteng economy, improve service delivery, and increase investor confidence.