JOHANNESBURG – Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Xola Nqola, has expressed concerns that state institutions are failing to fully utilize their annual budgets.

Nqola made the remarks on Monday at the Public Protector’s conference on promoting good governance in Ekurhuleni.

In the 2022/23 financial year, government underspent its budget by almost R16 billion, with the Department of Social Development underspending the most.

Nqola stressed that underspending of a budget has serious consequences on the overall performance of government.

“We approve these budgets pending your use of available funds. So we seriously disagree when the money is there, but it is not used. When money is not used, the real consequences mean that services are not provided to the population.