The Gauteng government will be considering a ”provincial tax” to ease pressure on resources from inter-provincial migration, provincial minister of finance and economic affairs Paul Mashatile announced on Tuesday.
A feasibility study has already been completed and will soon go to the executive council for deliberations, he said in tabling his medium-term budget policy statement.
Also being explored is the possibility of tolling existing and future freeways.
”This will allow us to raise private-sector funding for the maintenance and construction of high-order roads,” said Mashatile.
”Funds from the fiscus will then be channelled towards secondary and primary roads, particularly in our townships.”
Mid-year estimates put Gauteng’s population at 9,4-million people, because of migration.
”This puts serious pressure on available resources.”
The incorporation of Winterveldt, Ekangala and Mabopane into Gauteng also present challenges for the fiscus, he said.
The plans were slammed by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which said residents were already overtaxed and that new taxes were unlikely to help attract new business.
”We believe the government should first look at better collecting existing taxes, such as motor licensing, before introducing new taxes,” said DA Gauteng finance spokesperson Hermene Koorts.
Although Koorts voiced concern at the legislature’s lack of financial reserves with a R610-million deficit, Mashatile said this had been revised down from R783,8-million in the actual budget for 2006/7.
His medium-term budget outlines revenue to fund strategic priorities in the next three years.
”In the 2007/8 financial year, the deficit will be reduced further to R32,2-million and will be financed from reserves in the provincial revenue fund,” said Mashatile.
”We wish to reiterate that our fiscal position remains stable and continues to be governed by sound principles of fiscal management,” he said.
Mashatile adjusted expenditure for 2006/7 from R34,4-billion to R35,2-billion — with revenue of R33,9-billion — increasing to R36-billion and R38,5-billion in the in the two outer years of the five-year medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF).
This took into account conditional national government grants of R110,7-million, roll-overs of R236,6-million, unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure of R143,5-million and other adjustments of R332,4-million.
More than R17-billion of the budgeted expenditure will go to projects for economic growth, including the Gautrain and implementation of the province’s growth and development strategy.
Attention will also be paid to: the global city region perspective; integrated 2010 strategy; the 20 priority townships initiative; Gauteng safety strategy; social development strategy; human resource development strategy; and integrated youth and women development strategies.
Mashatile said the province, in tandem with municipalities, will spend more than R50-billion on infrastructure development in the province in the next five years.
He believes this ”massive investment” will stimulate economic growth, reduce unemployment and create economic activity — but not at the expense of health, education, community safety and social development services.
Under the new budget, the health department gets an extra R255-million for hospital revitalisation and forensic pathology services.
An extra R17,5-million has been allocated for the HIV/Aids programme; R21-million to replace old computers; R11-million to transform the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital; R2-million for salaries; R20-million for extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis; and R28imillion to cover shortfalls in the budgets of Dr Charles Hurwitz, Tsepong and East Rand hospitals.
”An amount of R106,8-million will be suspended from the department of health to various departments for the HIV and Aids project, which will be coordinated by the department of health,” Mashatile said.
The social development department gets R52,8-million more, with a R4,7-million rollover approved to fund ongoing integrated social services programme commitments.
Mashatile said R21,6-million was suspended from the department’s capital budget to the department of public transport, roads and works for the maintenance, upgrading and rehabilitation of buildings, including facilities at Walter Sisulu and Tutela Places of Safety. — Sapa