Boost for spending on schools

The Eastern Cape government has set up a special task team to improve the provision of school infrastructure development across the province.

In the last financial year, the provincial education department returned R530-million to the National Treasury after failing to spend the funds.

The money was then reallocated to other needy provinces.

The provincial government announced this week that in a bid to fight bottlenecks and avoid infrastructure funds being forfeited, it had resolved that a task team be set up to monitor all infrastructure- related projects in the troubled education department.

Provincial government spokesman Sizwe Kupelo yesterday said the team, which will consist of mostly senior roads and public works department officials, would also assist the struggling education department with project management expertise and the preparation and scrutinising of final accounts and close-out reports.

“The condition of schools has been assessed and projects have since been allocated to various implementing agents, while some will be performed in-house,” said Kupelo.

The Bhisho administration had previously attempted to improve service delivery by stripping then education superintendent-general Ray Tywakadi of some of his powers.

Accounting powers were then given to provincial treasury official Sizakele Netshilaphala, who currently acts as the education department’s accounting officer.

Later premier Phumulo Masualle announced that the provincial treasury would manage all infrastructure budgets for both education and health departments, but still more than R530-million meant for school infrastructure development was not spent this past financial year.

Kupelo yesterday said the day-to-day maintenance budget had since been allocated directly to section 21 schools, while a maintenance budget for section 20 schools would be administered by the education districts.

Section 20 schools receive allocations of textbooks and stationery from government. They also have their lights and water accounts paid directly by government.

Section 21 schools are allocated finances by the department and are responsible for ordering stationery, textbooks, paying water and lights accounts and undertaking their own maintenance.

Kupelo said the position of the project management officer to oversee the team’s operations has also been advertised by the department of roads and public works.

“A construction procurement unit has also been established to address the procurement-related challenges.”

Despite a huge backlog, the provincial education department has over the years been struggling to spend their allocated budget for infrastructure development.

Two months ago the Daily Dispatch reported that a senior education department official, deputy director-general for planning, Philiswa Mdikane, was suspended as pressure mounted on the provincial government to act over the unspent R530-million meant for infrastructure development in struggling provincial schools. — asandan@dispatch.co.za