Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday the National treasury was ready to take the lead to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of government spending.

Godongwana has set his sights in conducting head counts in the civil service to root out ghost-workers, as one of the initiatives.

Tabling the budget in Parliament, Godongwana said budgets have, over a decade, been trimmed across the board.

He said while measures have helped maintain fiscal discipline, they have often been implemented without a thorough interrogation of whether the funds allocate truly supported national priorities.

“We must acknowledge that over time budgets tend to grow incrementally, often carrying forward historical allocations, without necessarily reflecting the evolving needs of our country.

“This approach has led to inefficiencies, misalignments, duplications and, in some cases, the continued funding of programmes that do not yield the intended impact. We recognise the urgent need to address this.”

Godongwana also said the government was deaf to the public’s concern about wasteful and inefficient expenditure.

“We know that we must earn the taxpayer’s trust every day, by spending public money with care and ensuring that every rand collected is spent on its intended purpose.”

He said the National Treasury and provincial treasuries have undertaken 240 spending reviews as part of the ongoing revaluation of the operations of government since 2013.

“The reviews ranged from examining efficiencies in administrative functions, like office accommodation, fleet management and overtime pay in various sectors, to measuring the effectiveness of service delivery programmes in health, education and human settlements.

“The consolidated recommendations of these reviews will be taken to Cabinet in the next month.”

He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa has also undertaken to establish a committee between the Presidency and Treasury to identify waste, inefficient and underperforming programmes.

“As the National Treasury, we are ready to take the lead to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of spending.

“We will undertake an audit of ghost workers, starting with national and provincial departments.”

The Minister state that the National Treasury will use the ongoing, detailed review of labour market activation programmes and public employment programmes to consolidate and rationalise the entire public employment ecosystem.

“The aim of the review is to reduce duplication and improve operational efficiencies across the more than 100 active labour market programmes in over 20 public institutions. The recommendations of this review will be presented to Cabinet in due course.”

Godongwana added that the National Treasury will implement significant changes to the budget process by reassessing the initial assumptions informing budget allocations, with a view to creating room for improved spending.

“These reviews go beyond mere cost-cutting measures. They allow us to systematically assess whether public expenditure is effectively aligned with the priorities of this government, and whether it delivers the best possible value for money and impact for the people of South Africa while keeping us on the path of fiscal sustainability.”

The reviews, he said also allowed to systematically assess whether public expenditure is effectively aligned with the priorities of this government, and whether it delivered the best possible value for money and impact for the people of South Africa while keeping us on the path of fiscal sustainability.

“These initiatives will give impetus to the slow implementation of the recommendations of spending reviews.”

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za