The Department had allocated an amount of R3.6 billion for current payments but only spent R523 million or 14.4 per cent of its budget by the end of the first quarter. This reflected an under expenditure of 10.6 per cent in the total budget. The lower than expected expenditure on current payments was attributed to savings of R50 million on vacant posts. Some levels of under expenditure were due to the delays in advertising vacant posts, especially those that were classified as occupation specific dispensation (OSD) positions. The slow spending was also due to unspent funds for goods and services as a result of outstanding invoices for the use of Government motor transport by the Department. The newly introduced Supply Chain Management process has also contributed to delays by not issuing orders on time.