Joyce Pekane
The Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Portfolio Committee, led by Joyce Pekane, received the Department’s 2015/2016 Annual Report on November 4 in Soweto. the aim of the meeting was to share its findings.
In the past financial year, the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (GDSACR) received an amount of R794 924 000 and spent close to R704 333 000, according to the annual report prepared by sports portfolio committee.
The portfolio committee says while the Department has spent 86% of its allocated budget, this actually represents a regress from the 2014/2015 and 2013/2014 financial years, which recorded an expenditure of 96.6% and 99.1% respectively.
The committee pointed out that the Department received an unqualified audit with several findings on compliance in the year under review.
Some of the non-compliance with legislation highlighted by the auditor-general was:
Effective steps were not taken to prevent unauthorised expenditure amounting to R12 836 000. This was because management did not implement adequate measures to ensure matching between actual expenditure and budgeted expenditure.
Effective steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure amounting to R194 000 000. This was attributed to the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Unit staff not being properly trained in the application of required procurement processes.
Goods and services with a transaction value below R500 000 were procured without obtaining price quotations or inviting competitive bids as required.
Quotations were accepted from bidders based on points given for criteria that were not stipulated in the original invitation for quotations.
The audit has also revealed that the Department incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure to the value of R1 478 000 due to interest charged on overdue accounts and legal costs.
Several recommendations were made by treasury with the hope that in the coming financial year, the Department will be able to implement the SCM policies and receive a clean audit.
With regard to the total vote, the budget variance study shows that under-spending to the amount of R2 443 000 occurred in compensation of the employees programme.
There was under-spending amounting to R10 410 000 under goods and services as well as R5 204 000 over-spending collectively in transfers and capital spending, which is noted under transfers and subsidies to non-profit institutions.
During the year under review, the Department was able to get the Provincial Heritage Resources Agency of Gauteng (PHRA-G) model approved.
Furthermore, they were able to complete two evaluations into the impact of the Division of Revenue Act funded Sports and Recreation programmes and the implementation of the Gauteng Craft hubs strategy. The Department indicated that it was able to host a successful carnival during the reporting period and exceeded its target of employing more people with disabilities during the financial year under review.
In terms of challenges, the Department continued to experience under-spending as it was unable to fill all vacant posts, even though they have a self-imposed moratorium until the aligned structures could be implemented. The other challenges the Department faces is with regard to their infrastructure projects, which played a role in their inability to spend the allocated budget.
During the state of the province address, Premier David Makhura indicated that the province should invest in museums as part of the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter. In this regard the Department has continued to support museums and eight heritage sites, and continues to update a database of these in Gauteng. During this reporting period the Department supported Kagiso Memorial, the Women’s Living Monument and Fort Wonderboom.
Regarding job creation, the Department was able to create 3 118 jobs through the Gauteng Carnival. In addition, 66 crafters and 10 co-operatives were assisted with job opportunities through market access initiatives. Through the Sports and Recreation programme 32 young people were assisted with job opportunities in schools co-ordinating leagues and tournaments for school sports purposes.
The Department aims to ensure equitable delivery of sport to all, make Gauteng a sporting province, harness the social benefits of sport and maximise the benefits of the sport economy. Achievements noted in the 2015/16 financial year include the hosting of the Gauteng Sport Awards, Gauteng School Sport Awards and Gauteng Football Cup 2016. In promoting Gauteng as a tourism destination and home of champions, Future Champions and the Arnold Classic games were implemented.