Chairperson, comrades and hon members, the report that we are debating today of the Joint Budget Committee covers the period for April to June of this year.
It's also the final first-quarter report of the Joint Budget Committee in this the third democratic Parliament. Total expenditure by departments in this first quarter stands at R139,2 billion or 23% of the appropriation. Whilst we have seen an increase in aggregate expenditure over the period 2005-06 to 2008-09, spending patterns relative to the Budget have remained in the 21% to 23% band. At the same time, there has also been underexpenditure in some of the subprogrammes.
The Joint Budget Committee has not been able to ascertain whether steps have been taken to accelerate not only spending but also actual delivery. If time permitted, the Joint Budget Committee should have required of departments to submit detailed reports of steps undertaken to implement the President's instruction of " "Business Unusual".
In a presentation to the Joint Budget Committee on 1 August, the National Treasury indicated that four departments, namely Foreign Affairs, the Department of Public Service and Administration, and Agriculture and Land Affairs missed their year-to-date spending benchmark in the first quarter by more than 8%. A further two departments, Communications and Public Enterprises, missed their benchmark by 21%.
In the remaining months of this financial year and third democratic Parliament, it is imperative that all departments focus on accelerating spending in an effective and efficient manner, ensuring that government meets its delivery targets. This is obviously going to require greater emphasis on planning as well as improved interdepartmental planning, budgeting and spending.
The JBC is not convinced that departments have clearly identified departmental critical skills and prioritised them accordingly, and is therefore of the view that in fact all departments should make every effort to fill vacant posts by the end of the second financial quarter, especially those at senior management level, as well as those at a lower level.
The committee is also concerned about the delay in the transfer of funds to state-owned enterprises. This is attributed to, amongst others, delays in the submission of business plans, cash flow projections, service level agreements and compliance documents. These delays impact on the ability to spend allocated funds efficiently and effectively. It is important that departments that transfer funds to state-owned enterprises ensure that prior to the commencement of the financial year all the necessary documentation and in particular service level agreements are finalised and submitted.
Emphasis also needs to be placed on the performance and financial sustainability of state-owned enterprises. This includes taking measures to improve their overall operations and identifying and reducing potential risks. The JBC is of the view that measures should be taken to improve risk management in order to reduce situations that could lead to unacceptably high adjustments having to be made.
In some departments we have seen certain instances where, in certain programmes, low or nonexpenditure takes place as a result of allocated funds being placed in suspense accounts. The JBC is concerned about this, because delays in service delivery that occurred due to a lack of expenditure cannot be accepted. Therefore, we intend to exercise greater oversight over this area in the coming months with the Office of the Accountant-General. A number of departments have also indicated slow or low expenditure that took place as a result of delays in the receipt of invoices, and this is also of great concern. Maybe I can just give one or two examples. The Department of Labour, for instance, showed poor spending on goods and services due to delays in the submission of invoices by the Department of Public Works. The Department of Housing experienced delays in the receipt of invoices from the Government Communication and Information System.
Over the past four years, the work of the JBC has contributed to enhancements in budgetary oversight as well as departmental accountability. In the early years of the Joint Budget Committee, departments and in fact portfolio committees as well as select committees were not entirely sure of what the work of the JBC was. However, the JBC has improved its work, has been able to focus effectively on its mandate and has firmly placed itself on the radar screen of departments. During this term of office during this, the third democratic Parliament, we have seen a number of departments implementing the recommendations of the Joint Budget Committee, and one of those, for example, is the Department of Housing. They've put together a special programme, a special division, to monitor and oversee the use of funds. That, for us, is important.
It's also through the initiative of the ANC that we have such a committee as a Joint Budget Committee. It demonstrates the seriousness of the ANC on both oversight and accountability. It is worth noting that under the previous regime there was no such committee, there was no accountability and there was no transparency.
The Joint Budget Committee has made a number of recommendations to National Treasury over the past years. Many of these have been taken on board by National Treasury, and these have assisted the Joint Budget Committee in strengthening its oversight and monitoring role. One of the issues that has been of concern to many of us has been the poor attendance by many of the opposition parties in the work of the Joint Budget Committee, especially during the hearings on the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement as well as the Budget. I think this clearly indicates to us; in fact it's a clear contradiction to their claims of being the watchdogs of Parliament. This role has been and will continue to be undertaken by the ANC.
In conclusion, the only consistent opposition party has been the DA and, in this regard, I would like to acknowledge the positive and constructive contributions of the hon Swart. We appreciate that. [Applause.] On a more personal note, I would also just like to say that it's been a great privilege to have been part of the Joint Budget Committee from its inception way back in 2002. The ANC supports this report. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.