It was a privilege to sit in the council chamber and hear the budget speech. Members from eight different political parties welcomed the Ekurhuleni budget, also known as the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, that was tabled by the MMC for Finance, Moses Makwakwa under the leadership of the honourable Executive Mayor, Councillor Mondli Gungubele.
The draft budget was available for public comment and community input until April 30.
It is, however, important that ratepayers receive the assurance that this budget is a budget of the people and diligent oversight occurred before the final approval.
The approved budget will now be implemented on July 1 and unlock the new basket of municipal services and social benefits for our community. The Executive Mayor set the tone of the Ekurhuleni service delivery target and budget deliverables during his State of the City Address in March.
MMC Makwakwa delivered a well-balanced budget that meets the needs of our community by continuing with the mayoral theme, ‘Strengthening social maturity by advancing social cohesiveness in pursuit of a prosperous City’. The Finance Oversight Committee has scrutinized this budget stringently.
The Executive Mayor set the tone of the Ekurhuleni service delivery target and budget deliverables during his State of the City Address in March.
All the Oversight Committees of Council gave input and participated in the IDP/Budget process before it was presented to communities across the length and breadth of the city. The draft budget was available for public comment and community input until April 30.
Various different comments were received and communities provided their input on the budget that was captured by the finance department and included in the final budget. The MMC and CFO will also appear before the Finance Oversight Committee to give verbal responses to the committee regarding Budget process.
During this meeting the department also has to submit written responses to the oversight committee on the public participation process to inform the committee on how questions raised by the community were addressed and included in the final budget document.
The MMC and CFO will also appear before the Finance Oversight Committee to give verbal responses to the committee regarding Budget process.
The whole process is designed to ensure that the budget represents the needs of our community and addresses the concerns of our people.
There is no such thing as a perfect budget and our job will continue on July 1 with the next budget cycle to ensure we constantly improve on meeting our mandate of moving Ekurhuleni forward by creating a better life for all.
For more information residents can contact me directly on Diamond.Neil@ekurhuleni.gov.za
