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Millions underspent on IT

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2011

Government has rolled over millions that should have been spent last year on information technology, according to the mid-year revised estimates of national expenditure.

The adjusted estimates of national expenditure, released today, indicate that more than R26 million was not spent on IT in the last financial year and has been rolled over. In total, R3.737 billion was rolled over by government departments.

According to the document, roll-overs reflect funds that were not spent in the last financial year and have been reallocated to the current year, which started in April, to wrap up activities that are almost complete.

In the middle of each year, Treasury presents an adjusted budget, which revises the allocations set in February. The adjustments process is an opportunity to revise the main budget to respond to changes that have affected planned government spending, says Treasury's document.

The Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities did not spend R5.775 million on IT infrastructure last year, which has been rolled over.

The basic education department rolled over R8.906 million for verifying and capturing marks of learners in grades three, six and nine relating to national assessments, as well as R6.995 million for specialised computer services for the learner records project.

The Department of Health rolled over R5.5 million for IT systems in the Civitas building, while Higher Education and Training rolled over R2.33 million for services from the State IT Agency (SITA).

In addition, according to Treasury, the Independent Complaints Directorate did not spend R1.424 million on software licences and specialised services, which has been moved to this financial year.

The Department of Communications rolled over R109.9 million, earmarked for Sentech to roll out digital terrestrial television infrastructure as well as R1.133 million to automate business processes.

Human Settlements did not spend R4.3 million for specialised services provided by SITA, which has also been rolled over.

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