Question NW2059 to the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education
23 June 2022 - NW2059
Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education
Pertaining to the failure of the Eastern Cape Department of Education failure to spend a total of R205 million of the education budget while there exist infrastructure problems with specific reference to mud schools and pit toilets in the specified province, how does her department intend to supervise the province to avoid such mistakes from happening?
Reply:
The DBE has intensified its monitoring activities of the Eastern Cape DoE Infrastructure Programme. Meetings with the provincial team are held twice every month. Monitoring addresses planning, budgeting, expenditure, procurement and project management. These are interrogated and a sample of projects are visited. Based on the findings from these visits, remedial actions are devised with the province and monitored by the DBE. Monitoring deals with both programme and project issues.
1. Programme matters include -
- The pattern of overall expenditure being achieved;
-Comparisons of expenditure to projected cash flows;
- Progress being made with key groups of projects [eg. Water, sanitation, libraries, laboratories, Grade R]; and
- Management of the portfolio of projects [ie evidence that the programme of projects is being managed effectively through the project cycle].
2. At the Project level the focus is on ensuring -
-that PSP appointments are being made;
- that planning and design processes are progressing;
- that the tender process for the appointment of contractors is progressing, that construction is progressing satisfactorily, [i.e. on programme, on budget, at acceptable quality…]; and
- that projects are being handed over and closed out and that final accounts are being wrapped up.