Pretoria - Provinces increased their spending by R14.2 billion for the year ending 31 March, with the bulk going to education, health, public works and roads and transport, Treasury said on Monday.
According to Treasury's fourth quarter year-to-date provincial budgets and expenditure report, provinces increased their main budgets with R6.5 billion; R4.2 billion and R2.7 billion for education, health and public works, roads and transport respectively.
In aggregate, provinces had spent R305.3 billion or 100.5 percent of their adjusted budgets of R303.9 billion in 2009/10, which was a year-on-year spending increase of 15.8 percent or R41.6 billion over the R263.7 billion spent in 2008/09.
Spending varied between provinces, with the lowest share of 96.8 percent in the Free State and 97.4 percent in the Northern Cape, to the highest at 102.9 percent in KwaZulu-Natal and 101.9 percent in Gauteng.
According to Treasury's preliminary outcome six of the provinces in aggregate had underspent their adjusted budgets by R2.3 billion.
"This is largely due to capital expenditure and conditional grants which reflect underspending in most provincial departments for 2009/10," said Treasury.
The Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal overspent their adjusted budgets by R3.6 billion in aggregate mostly due to over-expenditure in their education and health departments.
