N@N

KZN government spends R600m on airtime, data for officials

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government has allocated R600 million for airtime and data for its officials, as revealed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) through a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request. This expenditure, which covers the period from 2020 to 2023, has been criticized by the DA as excessive, especially given the province's financial constraints and the need for funds in other critical areas like infrastructure and service delivery. The DA's shadow MEC for Finance, Francois Rodgers, highlighted that this amount could have been used to build 1,000 RDP houses or to significantly improve water and sanitation services. The breakdown of the spending shows that the Department of Education spent the most, followed by the Department of Health, with the Office of the Premier also having a significant allocation. The DA has called for a review of these expenses, suggesting that the government should prioritize spending on essential services for the public rather than on what they consider to be lavish perks for officials.

Read the Full MSN Article at:
[ https://www.msn.com/en-za/politics/government/kzn-government-spends-r600m-on-airtime-data-for-officials/ar-AA1vMB6s ]