The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) noted on Thursday that at its last hybrid plenary sitting for the year, it has considered the reports of the Select Committee on Appropriations on the Adjustments Appropriation Bill, the Proposed Division of Revenue, and the Conditional Grant Allocations to provinces and local government.
In the 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, tabled the Adjustments Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly in October.
This Bill aims to provide for the adjustment of appropriations from the National Revenue Fund to cater to the state's financial needs for the 2024/2025 fiscal period.
One of the major objectives of the Bill is to recommend increases or decreases to allocations set out in the main Appropriation Act.
These would include shifts in the anticipated economic classification of South Africa’s current spending.
The government said that the Bill proposed allocations in the form of transfers and subsidies to the national, provincial and local government spheres, such as the provinces, municipalities, public corporations, and other non-profit organisations.
These funds are essentially for the payment of social grants, conditional grant allocations and transfers to several other associated socio-economic, infrastructural and educational public entities.
“The Bill’s proposed adjustments for the 2024/25 financial year include an additional allocation of R2.1 billion to the Department of Defence, a proposed additional allocation of R2.6 billion in expenditure announced in the 2024 Budget but not allocated at that time and a proposed reduction of R242 million as declared unspent funds,” government noted.
Following deliberations in the Parliament, members of government have agreed to adopt the report and the Bill without amendments.
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