KZN finance MEC puts spotlight on creating jobs

Francois Rodgers, KwaZulu-Natal’s Finance MEC, said the provincial government is working on making it easier to create jobs.

The MEC said this while tabling the R150.5 billion provincial government budget for the 2024/25 financial year at the provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday July 25. Mr Rodgers said the budget proposals presented, ignite hope in that resources are allocated to bring about direct change to the lives of people.

“It is evident that the provincial government is allocating financial resources to facilitate the journey towards achieving a capable and ethical developmental state. The journey will be a long bumpy road with detours and speed humps. However, with the commitment of all politicians and public officials we need to utilise public funds wisely and effectively in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act. This way we will not only reach our end destination, but we will arrive with petrol in our tanks,” Mr Rodgers said.

He acknowledged the current socio-economic outlook and the direct impact it has on the province and its citizens, adding that the current administration had already started to take the necessary tough decisions to turn the tide.

“All government departments and public entities must follow the principles of good governance, good financial management; take a zero-tolerance stance against corruption, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. With tight financial controls, this will allow government to direct more funds towards service delivery,” Mr Rodgers said.

He also urged the heads of departments, including chief executive officers of public entities, chief financial officers, and senior management officials, to share notes on good practice and experiences to improve the public service. Adding that government departments, public entities and municipalities must strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of programmes to assess the measurable impact of the programmes over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and to make the necessary adjustments to improve service delivery.

Mr Rodgers also acknowledged the immense destruction of various parts of the province, due to recent veld fires. This, however, he said would not stand in the way of government’s efforts to grow the province’s economy.

“Government is still assessing the full extent of the damage and the national government will make a determination on whether to declare the incidents as a provincial disaster. Provincial government has allocated resources to rebuild the lives of the victims and reinstate hope in their lives,” he said. “We are extremely encouraged to see that social partners have come closer to partner with government in extending a helping hand to the affected communities. We implore more businesses and social partners to get on board and assist in any way they are able to.”