Ten thousand rands will be used to fund emergency food supplies for traffic officers, instead of being used to pay professional fees. Instead of being spent in the human resources department, R930 000 will be used to pay legal fees. And to prevent water supplies being cut off during power failures, generators will be bought so that the pumps can continue to work.
Ten thousand rands will be used to fund emergency food supplies for traffic officers, instead of being used to pay professional fees. Instead of being spent in the human resources department, R930 000 will be used to pay legal fees. And to prevent water supplies being cut off during power failures, generators will be bought so that the pumps can continue to work.
Last week's revision of the budget was a reminder of some of the crises that the Makana Council has faced in the first year of its first term of office – and flagged some new ones.
Councillors met last Wednesday to discuss recommendations for adjustments to the municipality's 2011/12 budget to fund critical projects. The meeting brought back into the spotlight the money controversially paid to Ubumbano Sporting Development Academy, the organisation appointed to run coaching clinics as one of the 2010 soccer World Cup legacy projects. Councillors voted to reallocate R400 000 to cover expenses related to this deal.
Other adjustments include:
* R120 000 will be taken from the vote for the annual Civic Awards to fund this year's Project 200 Years.
* A computerised learner project that has been moved by the MEC for Transport to the former Transkei will no longer use their allocated R200 000 budget and it is suggested that this be used to fund vehicles for the traffic department.
* R100 000 will be diverted from street signs to materials and stores.
* R10 000 from the account for professional fees will instead be used for conference fees.
* Another R10 000 from the account for professional fees will be used to fund emergency food supplies for traffic officers.
* Savings will be used to advertise five posts in the finance directorate, as well as the posts of secretary to the Speaker's office and a manager in the Mayor's office.
* Funds need to be shifted from somewhere to fund the R30 000 a year the mayoral vehicle and also to pay for legal fees. It was also recommended that R930 000 be moved from human resources line items to fund the latter.
Two big new proposed projects concerned infrastructure and basic services. In requesting R7 million from the savings in the Capital Budget to rebuild the Extension 6 road, Mayor Zamuxolo Peter described roads in Makana generally as a disaster, saying this one lacked proper drainage. He also proposed that roads in the "west end of Makana" be resealed.
And chairperson of the infrastructure portfolio, Councillor Nomhle Gaga, recalling past water crises, pointed out that not all the city's reservoirs had electricity generators, meaning in those areas, "if there is no [electricity], then there is no water".
Another reminder of the troubles the municipality has faced was Councillor Paul Notyawa's suggestion that the municipality create a post for an in-house legal person, instead of hiring attorneys every time legal advice was required.
Councillor Pierre Ranchhod agreed: "A fully fledged person is need to look at not only legal matters like litigation, but lease agreements," Rancchod said, adding that other experts were also needed, such as architects and town planners and others. He suggested that even paying these extra salaries would be less costly than the 34 million spent on consultants.
A representative from National Treasury at the meeting warned that it would be important to keep the official virement policy close at hand when making these adjustments. In accounting terms, virement is the agreed transfer of money from one budget heading, to which it has been allocated, to another budget heading.
According to the municipal finances act, the process must be finalised by 28 February.
A second chance
According to the report, an adjustment budget may authorise:
* Unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure recommended by the mayor.
* The utilisation of projected savings towards spending in another vote.
* The spending of funds that were unspent at the end of the past financial year where the underspending was not foreseen at that time..
* The correction of errors in the annual budget.
