PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa's inauguration in June was funded through the shifting of nearly R19 million from the national department of transport’s taxi recapitalisation programme after approval by the National Treasury.
Details of the R18.9m moved from the taxi recapitalisation programme to bankroll the June 19 inauguration are contained in the adjusted estimates of national expenditure released during last month’s medium term budget policy statement delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
In total, R116.6m was shifted from the taxi recapitalisation programme to fund other programmes such as the Transport Economic Regulator, cost of living adjustments and the 27th Africa-Indian Ocean planning and implementation regional group technical meeting and 10th regional aviation safety group meeting.
According to the adjusted estimates, only Parliament may approve the transfer of R80.2m from the taxi recapitalisation programme to the taxi empowerment project.
The National Treasury explained to the Sunday Independent that the shifting of funds from savings on one spending item or programme is done to defray excess expenditure in another programme or item.
”In this case, the accounting officer of the Department of Transport identified savings on the taxi recapitalisation programme due to lower than projected spending in order to fund in-year pressures on compensation of employees, payments related to the presidential inauguration, and other programmes,” Treasury added.
In the adjusted estimates of national expenditure, Treasury stated that in total R116.6m was moved from the taxi recapitalisation programme to various other programmes such as cost of living adjustments and taxi empowerment projects, among others.
In June, the Sunday Independent reported that a week before Ramaphosa’s inauguration at the Union Buildings, the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure awarded three contracts worth nearly R8m to procure marquees for VVIP lounges and related services at ports of entries – OR Tambo International Airport in Ekurhuleni and the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Tshwane as well as Loftus Versfeld.
Loftus Versfeld was initially scheduled to host the inauguration, but preparations for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship knockout stages forced a change of plans as the Blue Bulls progressed further in the competition, which they eventually lost in the final to Scotland's Glasgow Warriors at the 52 000-capacity venue.
Sheer Entertainment had scored the contract worth almost R1.7m as well as another valued at nearly R3.9m to provide stage, sound, big screen, and related infrastructure at Loftus Versfeld.
Another company, Be-Sure Events Solutions, was awarded a tender of just under R2.2m to supply marquees to the Sefako Makgatho presidential guest house at the Bryntirion Estate, which hosted the post-inauguration luncheon for VVIPs.
The government planned for plans for 100 heads of state and government and 50 kings and queens to attend the inauguration.
However, it later revised the number of attendees to at least 18 heads of state and government, three former heads of state and government, and nine heads of delegation.
Ramaphosa’s 2019 inauguration cost taxpayers R120m while his predecessor, ex-president Jacob Zuma’s ceremony, was staged at around R240m.
Meanwhile, a few weeks ago Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced that a review of the taxi recapitalisation programme is necessary as her department is not getting the desired outcomes from the current programme.
She said the programme, which started in 2007, was meant to promote road safety by taking unroadworthy vehicles off the road while resolving issues related to the taxi industry’s compliance and promoting affordability of the vehicle.
Instead, new vehicles are unaffordable, and while the government maintains that the programme’s policy objectives remain valid but new minibus taxis are unaffordable, with a Toyota Quantum now costing about R700 000 while the subsidy has only increased by the value of the consumer price index.
National Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi did not respond to requests for comment.