FRIDAY, 4.00PM
THE North-West province government on Friday announced stringent austerity measures to be instituted with immediate effect in an attempt to reduce provincial and national debt and address developmental backlogs in the province.
Included in the measures, announced in Mafikeng by acting premier Zacharia Pitso Tolo, is a ban on new vehicle and equipment purchases, the suspension of new appointments, and a review of all new projects.
“The successful implementation of these measures will bring about a saving of between R160-million and R200-million,” Tolo said.
The purchase of all new vehicles will be stopped, and an audit conducted of all state vehicles with a view to redistributing them among provincial government departments. Tighter control of vehicle use will be implemented. The purchase of all new equipment will be ended, apart from specially motivated exceptions, Tolo said, and travelling and subsistence costs will be kept to a minimum. A committee will also be set up to evaluate all new projects in order to make recommendations to the executive committee, through the director-general, on the desirability of implementing them. Tolo also said all new appointments will be suspended, and that filling posts will only be considered in cases where suspension of services might not be in the public interest.
Tolo said the successful implementation of the savings measures will enable resources to be redirected to address developmental backlogs in the province in, for example, the health and education sectors.