The Democratic Alliance condemns the Gauteng Health Department (GHD) for yet again failing to spend the entire budget despite crumbling hospitals, staff vacancies, unpaid suppliers, and insufficient equipment.
They are projected to underspend R725 million in the 2025/26 financial year which ends on 31 March 2026. This is according to the Gauteng Finance and Economic Development Department in an official written reply to DA questions.
National Treasury has only approved a conditional rollover of R261 million of the unspent funds, so R463.5 million will be returned to Treasury.
The under-expenditure is blamed on “delays in the completion of projects and submission of invoices by contractors and the delivery of machinery and equipment.”
In December last year, it was reported that National Treasury would write to the Gauteng Health MEC and three other Health MECs to provide reasons against being put under administration. This is because these provinces face a high risk of running out of medication due to a chronic failure to pay service providers in 30 days, salary overspending, persistently high doctor and nurse vacancy rates, and budget overruns with neglected infrastructure maintenance.
It is shameful that the GHD is plagued by poor financial management and has not had a permanent Chief Financial Officer for more than three years.
The Auditor-General found Gauteng to be the only provincial health department that failed all nine assessed areas, from procurement, management of revenue and expenditure, strategic planning, consequence management, transfer of funds and use of conditional grants. These failures hurt medical staff working under adverse conditions.
There is further disarray with the suspension of the Head of Department after failing a lifestyle audit, and corruption is rampant, as shown by more than R2 billion looted from the Tembisa hospital.
The DA will renew our pressure for Premier Panyaza Lesufi to fire Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and ensure there is competent and honest leadership at all levels, otherwise patients will continue to suffer from poor service.
Proper spending of this department’s R67 billion budget would improve services immensely.