Spending on the construction of Northern Cape hospitals has not been put on hold due to costs for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, said the National Treasury on Saturday.
”In essence, the overall programme has been stepped up by half a billion [rand] over the next two years, which then implies that there is no way you can come to the conclusion that funds have been diverted from that programme towards 2010,” National Treasury deputy director general Lungisi Fuzile told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
”What might have happened, however, is that within the programme there may have been some shifts in the allocations between provinces, which may have been informed by some sectoral considerations.”
On Thursday it was reported that construction of a R200-million hospital in De Aar had been delayed by a year due to a cutback in funds from the Treasury.
”It was as a result of the diversion of funds towards the preparations for 2010,” Northern Cape health department spokesperson Shelley Fielding said at the time.
She said building is now scheduled to start in the 2008 financial year, with the expected finishing date the middle of 2011. — Sapa