THE revelation by the national Treasury that millions of rands earmarked for healthcare improvements remain unspent by some provinces is as shocking as it is sad.
As we reported yesterday, the departments of health in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo have been named as culprits who have sat on millions of rands instead of spending the money on much-needed hospital equipment and HIV-Aids prevention.
The failure to spend defeats the ANC's otherwise sound and laudable decision to prioritise health. Not only was this an election manifesto of the ruling party, it has since become government policy. Health is among the top five priorities of President Jacob Zuma's administration.
Given the country's increasing health needs and the stress under which public healthcare facilities operate, it is criminal for the Mpumalanga government to derail the construction of a hospital when the existing hospitals are said to beunder strain.
And given the dilapidating hospitals in Eastern Cape, where baby deaths in hospitals have become a norm rather than an exception, you would have expected the provincial government to appreciate the money allocated to it.
Instead, they responded by not spending R35,9million allocated to revamp hospitals, essentially perpetuating the current sorry state of affairs. What an insult to the citizens of that province.
Why should people suffer due to lack of equipment and over-populated hospitals while money allocated by the national government remains unspent?
This sickening behaviour of officials - politicians and bureaucrats - who hoard taxpayers' money as if it is their private property should stop.
What has also become apparent in this governance scandal is that the three provincial governments, through their shoddy procurement systems, have appointed tenderpreneurs who have failed to deliver.
And the fact that these provinces are serial offenders in this regard suggests the problem is far more endemic than meets the eye.
Worse still is the failure to spend money earmarked for HIV-Aids prevention.
Knowing full well that this is a priority of the government, it is baffling why provincial government officials in the three provinces would fail to utilise the funds.
If Zuma is serious about making sure that health is a priority beyond political rhetoric, then heads must roll.
Delinquent provinces
THE revelation by the national Treasury that millions of rands earmarked for healthcare improvements remain unspent by some provinces is as shocking as it is sad.
As we reported yesterday, the departments of health in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo have been named as culprits who have sat on millions of rands instead of spending the money on much-needed hospital equipment and HIV-Aids prevention.
The failure to spend defeats the ANC's otherwise sound and laudable decision to prioritise health. Not only was this an election manifesto of the ruling party, it has since become government policy. Health is among the top five priorities of President Jacob Zuma's administration.
Given the country's increasing health needs and the stress under which public healthcare facilities operate, it is criminal for the Mpumalanga government to derail the construction of a hospital when the existing hospitals are said to beunder strain.
And given the dilapidating hospitals in Eastern Cape, where baby deaths in hospitals have become a norm rather than an exception, you would have expected the provincial government to appreciate the money allocated to it.
Instead, they responded by not spending R35,9million allocated to revamp hospitals, essentially perpetuating the current sorry state of affairs. What an insult to the citizens of that province.
Why should people suffer due to lack of equipment and over-populated hospitals while money allocated by the national government remains unspent?
This sickening behaviour of officials - politicians and bureaucrats - who hoard taxpayers' money as if it is their private property should stop.
What has also become apparent in this governance scandal is that the three provincial governments, through their shoddy procurement systems, have appointed tenderpreneurs who have failed to deliver.
And the fact that these provinces are serial offenders in this regard suggests the problem is far more endemic than meets the eye.
Worse still is the failure to spend money earmarked for HIV-Aids prevention.
Knowing full well that this is a priority of the government, it is baffling why provincial government officials in the three provinces would fail to utilise the funds.
If Zuma is serious about making sure that health is a priority beyond political rhetoric, then heads must roll.
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