President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday described the failure by provinces and municipalities to spend infrastructure budget as treason against South Africans.
“The issue of underspending is quite an important issue, particularly when it comes to spending on infrastructure allocations such as housing, education, water, and roads.
“I actually often characterise it as treason against the people of South Africa when monies that had been allocated are not spent and are returned to the National Treasury,” Ramaphosa said.
He was responding during a question-and-answer session in the National Council of Provinces.
ANC MP Kenny Mmoiemaang had enquired about whether the government has assessed the impact of inadequate spending by provinces and municipalities on their commitments to deliver quality and essential services to communities, particularly crucial infrastructure such as housing, schools, and roads.
Mmoiemang also wanted to know whether the government has been engaging provinces and municipalities that continue to underspend and fail to adequately utilise their allocated service delivery budgets.
