KZN Public Works MEC cuts budget for speech from R228,000 to R300

Taxpayers will pay R227,700 less for this year’s budget speech in KwaZulu-Natal.

Ahead of the 2024/25 budget speech presentation, the provincial Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, slashed the budget from just over R228,000 to just R300.

Meyer said his office won’t be spending money on “nice extras” at the event this time.

Meyer said the 2024/25 budget speech will not be printed on a glossy booklet with the MEC’s face on it, saving the department more than R70 000. “The budget speech will be printed in-house on plain paper. No new pull-up banners will be purchased for the upcoming budget speech.

“There will be no gifts or goodie bags for members of the provincial legislatures (MPLs) procured by the department and other guests during the budget debate,” he said.

He added that the cost-saving measures have led the department to choose this year’s theme of ‘Deploying the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to the people of KwaZulu-Natal through innovation and collaboration’.

Meyer will deliver his maiden budget speech to the KZN Legislative Assembly in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday. He will focus on cost-cutting measures, tackling wasteful and unnecessary spending, aggressive strategies to combat the construction mafia, plans to sell off unused government buildings and unveiling the department’s crafts programme.

Meyer said last month that this year’s budget speech will focus on the ministry’s ambition to curb unjustified spending, due to cost-saving measures.

“The department will no longer spend money on unnecessary perks or superfluous benefits that do not benefit the people of KZN.

“The implementation of these stringent financial measures is intended to redirect money towards accelerating service delivery and spending on the department’s core functions,” he said.

IOL policy