Page 90 - Demo

Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) %u2013 2025/26 Financial YearAs part of the funding for servicing sites connected with Broadband, the department has a reduction in its budget baseline of R10.308 million in 2025/26 and R28.002 million over the 2025 MTEF. In terms of the conditional grants from national, R9.768 million is provided in 2025/26 for the EPWP Integrated Grant for Provinces. Department of Agriculture The Department%u2019s budget allocation is to continue with the implementation of agriculture and rural development initiatives, focusing on commercialising agriculture value chains outlined in the Agriculture Economic Transformation Strategy (AETS) and the Agricultural and Agro Processing Master Plan (AAMP). The goal is to support producers through programmes that transform the agriculture sector to boost economic growth, inclusion, equality, and job creation. These initiatives aim to help black farmers increase production by providing engineering support, developing infrastructure for grain and livestock commodities, fostering partnerships between private entities and smallholder/communal farmers, and establishing district-specific commodity corridors. These efforts align with the Provincial Development Plan (PDP) Priority 1 - \Transformation and Job Creation,\security in the province. The department is projecting to spend R8 billion over the 2025 MTEF. In 2025/26, the budget increases by 5.1 per cent to R2.577 billion from revised estimates of R2.451 billion. Over the 2025 MTEF, there are additional allocations of R44.774 million for equitable share that have been made available to the department. As part of equitable share, funding was provided by national for the wage agreement amounting to R13.552 million in 2025/26 and R43.674 million over the 2025 MTEF. Furthermore, R1.100 million in 2026/27 was allocated for the implementation of the Livestock Identification and Traceability System (LITS) i.e. the system to do ear tags and tattooing. As part of the funding for servicing sites connected with Broadband, the department has a reduction in its budget baseline of R8.567 million in 2025/26 and R23.486 million over the 2025 MTEF. Funding provided from the provincial reserves for provincial priorities in 2025/26 is the R5.650 million for the operationalisation of the 13 custom feeding centres and R1.5 million for the implementation of the LITS. In terms of the conditional grants from national, R347.687 million in 2025/26 and R1.072 billion over the 2025 MTEF is provided. The bulk of the funding in 2025/26 is for the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme Grant at R247.590 million. Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism The department%u2019s budget allocation is for enterprise, trade and sector development, environmental and biodiversity conservation as well as tourism development in align with Priority 1 %u201cEconomic Transformation and Job Creation%u201d of the PDP. The department is projecting to spend R6.188 billion over the 2025 MTEF. In 2025/26, the budget increases by 5.1 per cent to R1.815 billion from a revised estimate of R1.728 million in 2024/25. Over the 2025 MTEF, there are additional allocations of R142.134 million for equitable share that have been made available to the department. As part of equitable share, funding was provided 69