Make every rand count and accounted for, KZN finance MEC urges
KZN Finance MEC Ravi Pillay says his department will strive to ensure that every rand counts and that every rand in the public purse is accounted for.
Pillay said this while speaking at the KZN Legislature in Pietermaritzburg this afternoon as he tabled the Provincial Treasury’s 2019/20 Budget of R722 million.
In the current financial year, Pillay said, more focus will be placed on how the province’s limited financial resources are managed given the sluggish growth of the economy and budget cuts.
“We can only make every rand count if we cut wastage, root out corruption and improve governance in all our departments, municipalities and public entities. This therefore means we have to ensure that we get value for money in terms of goods and services we procure,” said Pillay.
Speaking frankly, Pillay said the economic difficulties the country faces means that “the budgets we have are not enough to accomplish, all at once, the many things we need to do”.
He then added: “Thus, this enjoins us as the Provincial Treasury to be even more vigilant in exercising our role as the guardian of the public purse. It also means we have to be imaginative and creative in the manner in which we spend our limited resources.”
Pillay also announced that the Provincial Treasury is in the process of establishing a specialised unit which will ensure the implementation of the Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017. The unit will vet specifications of bids over R5million for all departments to ensure “general legal compliance and advancement of Radical Economic Transformation in the Province”.
The MEC said the recruitment is currently underway. The Provincial Treasury will continue to provide SCM-related support to departments, municipalities and public entities that are found to be in distress, he added.
Enquiries:
Musa Cebisa
Cell: 071 687 8777
Bheki Mbanjwa
Cell: 060 968 2417
