By Staff Reporter
Makana mayor Yandiswa Vara yesterday (Thursday) tabled the final budget and the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the municipality said in a statement.
According to the statement from municipal spokesperson Anele Mjekula, the Council approved the 2024/25 Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Forecast (MTREF) final budget based on the proposed expenditure and revenue for the three-year period as outlined in the budget recommendations contained in the budget document.
The total operating revenue for the 2024/25 financial year is projected at R863,7 million and the two outer years at R900,8 million and R899,7 million respectively for the MTREF.
The basis for the increased budget is informed by a data cleansing exercise and meter audit for water and electricity that has been performed for the purpose of revenue completeness and improved collection rate, the statement said.
“The installation of smart meters will ensure that the envisaged distribution losses are rightfully collected by the municipality and contribute to increased collection rates.
“The day-day engagements with municipal customers and corrective measures taken to address municipal accounts will make it possible to achieve the budget.”
Mjekula said the total operating expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year has been appropriated at R822 million and at R827 million and R859 million for the two outer years respectively.
The expenditure framework is informed by the following:
- Improvement in the quality-of-service delivery across all services
- Repairs and maintenance of expenditure to the tune of R16 million, R14,7 million and R15 million for the MTREF has been set aside for materials in respect of repairs and maintenance and an additional R72,5 million, 73,4 million and R68 million for the MTREF has been budgeted for the replacement of ageing fleet and upgrading of existing assets.
- Continued provision of basic services remains a high priority as well as financial sustainability.
- Repayment of long outstanding debt such as the bulk Eskom and Department of Water and Sanitation accounts.
The statement goes on to say that the Capital budget for the MTREF amounts to R72,5 million, R73,4 million and R68 million respectively. There is no burrowing in the Capital budget due to the lack of cash resources to repay the annual instalments, the municipality is still, however, servicing the old debt of DBSA. An amount of R26,2 million is budgeted internally and will only be possible upon improved collection rate and cost containment measures implemented on unnecessary expenditure to improve service delivery. A major portion of the capital budget is mainly funded from government grants and subsidies as the municipality has limited financial resources to commit large amounts to its own funds to capital financing. Capital grants contribute 64% to the coming year budget.
In tabling the third review of the IDP, Vara said the focus would remain on the six development priorities, following culmination of the clustered IDP and Budget roadshows.
These are:
- Basic service delivery and infrastructure development
- Community and social cohesion
- Local Economic Development and Planning
- Institutional Capacity and Organisational Development
- Financial viability and management
- Good governance and public participation
Among the issues raised by the community in the last community engagement, the following were the common issues:
- Upgrading of basic infrastructure
- Repair and maintenance of basic services infrastructure (i.e., roads)
- Non-responsiveness to complaints from the community
- Continuing water challenges characterised by water rationing, the schedule of water carting/sewer spillages.
- Lack of information regarding Housing developments
- Provision of refuse collection and illegal dumping
- General support and Local Economic Development initiatives
“In addition, the Mayoral Legotla held on 19 and 20 March 2024 was used as a platform to critically review our strategic objectives.”
