MBOMBELA – Yesterday two outstanding Mpumalanga departments tabled their budgets at the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL) in Mbombela.
Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu and newly re-elected speaker of the MPL, Makhosazane Masilela, tabled their respective budgets amounting to over one billion.
Both departments had postponed their budget tabling from the full blown budget week that happened throughout last week, where ten departments tabled over R64 billion to improve the livelihoods of the residents of Mpumalanga.
Speaker Masilela said the MPL needs R549,1 million to fund the institution’s operations. “We must continue to do more with the less in our hands,” she said, acknowledging rising operational costs and national budget constraints.
Her speech emphasised the legislature’s core mandate of law-making, oversight, and public participation. These functions, she stressed, are essential in strengthening democratic accountability. The funding will also support digital transformation through a new paperless Chamber System, improve committee support and expand public engagement platforms.
“Ours is a legislature of the people and for the people,” she said, adding that programmes meant to take the legislature to the people will include upcoming sessions in Mkhondo Local Municipality, Victor Khanye Local Municipality and Ehlanzeni District. These sessions will give ordinary citizens a platform to raise issues and get real-time feedback.
Meanwhile, for the Office of the Premier, Ndlovu presented a R493,8-million budget and a major highlight is the R103 million allocated to the Premier’s Youth Development Fund. This Fund, Ndlovu said, has already created over 800 jobs in sectors like tourism, agriculture, and green energy. “We are propelling young people of Mpumalanga into active economic participation.”
The Premier also introduced the rollout of a new Service Delivery Monitoring Tool (SDMT) — a mobile app that allows citizens to report service issues directly from their devices. “This marks a strategic milestone in strengthening the province’s service delivery ecosystem,” he noted.
Both leaders made strong commitments to gender equality, with gender-sensitive budgeting assessments planned across departments and municipalities. They also reinforced their fight against fraud, corruption and poor audit outcomes.
Both leaders said they were determined to work smarter, spend wisely and put the people of Mpumalanga first.
