Note to Editors: Attached, please find a soundbite from Michael Waters MPL in English here.
• Gauteng schools are still waiting for R971 million in Norms and Standards funding, months after the money was due.
• Special schools are among the hardest hit, with 129 public special schools still owed R250.9 million.
• The DA calls on the Gauteng government to come clean about the state of the province’s finances.
Gauteng schools are suffering the consequences of a provincial financial crisis, with R971 million in Norms and Standards funding still pending months after schools were supposed to receive their allocations. The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has admitted that these delays are preventing schools from purchasing essential teaching materials and implementing planned school programmes.
Evidence presented to the Gauteng Legislature’s Education Portfolio Committee has revealed a deeply concerning deterioration in the province’s financial position. Gauteng Provincial Treasury previously had reserves that allowed it to provide timely cash allocations to schools for Norms and Standards. However, these reserves are now depleted, causing schools to face delays of several months in receiving their expected funding.
The GDE’s own presentation revealed that R2.081 billion was due to 3,647 schools in the May tranche. To date, only R1.110 billion had been paid, leaving R971 million outstanding. Of this amount, an astonishing R250.9 million is still owed to 129 public special schools. These schools were due R501.8 million in May but have only received R250.9 million.
The Democratic Alliance calls on the Gauteng Provincial Government to come clean about the state of the province’s finances and explain why schools are still without the funding that is due to them.
Every day that this funding remains unpaid, the financial pressure on schools intensifies. Schools still have financial obligations to meet. These responsibilities do not disappear when government payments are delayed. Instead, schools are forced to find ways to keep operating while waiting for the funding they are owed.
What makes this even more disturbing is that this crisis was foreseeable. Treasury knew that schools required large transfers at specific times of the year. In previous years, provincial reserves provided the financial buffer needed to advance Education the cash and recover it later.
Teachers and learners should not have to worry about whether there is enough money for essential services or school programmes. Their priority should be teaching and learning, not worrying whether the lights will be on tomorrow or the taps will be running because of unpaid utility bills.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would prioritise schools by ensuring Norms and Standards funding is paid on time and protected from provincial cash-flow pressures. We would publish transparent payment schedules and prioritise vulnerable schools, including special schools. The Provincial Treasury and the GDE would be held accountable for funding delays.