South Africa asks Parliament to approve R1.339bn in spending
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day (South Africa)
South Africa’s Department of Transport is asking Parliament to approve 1.339 billion rand in unauthorised spending, of which 1.338 billion rand relates to the eNatis electronic traffic management system. It presented three cases to the public accounts committee, according to Business Day.
South Africa’s Department of Transport is asking Parliament to regularise 1.339 billion rand in unauthorised spending, of which 1.338 billion rand relates to the national electronic road traffic information system eNatis. The department presented three cases to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday 11 November and sought a recommendation to Parliament to approve the additional appropriations required under Section 34 of the Public Finance Management Act, Business Day reports.
The main case concerns spending overruns linked to eNatis between the 2013/14 and 2016/17 financial years. The department puts the spending at 768.35 million rand in 2013/14, 392.84 million in 2014/15 and 176.96 million in 2016/17. Two other amounts are involved: 980,375 rand spent outside a contract for the Arrive Alive programme and 108,623 rand for an event held in Tembisa for Nelson Mandela Day in 2022.
The dispute over eNatis dates back to the financing of the system entrusted to Tasima in December 2001. The Constitutional Court ordered in November 2016 that Tasima transfer eNatis and its services to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), but the department says its contractual obligations were not transferred with the system. MPs asked why the matter remained unresolved after 13 years and whether investigations into financial misconduct had been conducted, according to Business Day.
