ALBERTON – The Ekurhuleni Medium-Term Revenue Expenditure Framework (MTREF) and Reviewed Integrated Development Plan (IDP) were debated in a special council meeting, held on Thursday, May 28. Key issues raised by councillors were under-spending and tariff increases of the budget.
Under-spending was named as a challenge by ruling and opposition parties alike. Under-spending has been a persistent problem faced by the metro, with last month’s ordinary council meeting being dominated by discussion over the city’s perceived inability to spend allocated funds.
Many councillors brought attention to tariff increases. The following increases were announced: 7.5% for assessment rates, 12.2% for electricity, 14.5% for water, 9.5% for sanitation, and 8% for refuse removal. No increases were announced for tariffs on cemeteries, libraries, and recreational halls or on the hire and use of sport and recreational facilities.
Opposition councillors drew comparisons with Cape Town and Johannesburg, criticizing the increases as being too high. Clr Neil Diamond responded: “Ekurhuleni is 17% cheaper than Cape Town despite the fact that our budget is only 6.7% smaller.” He further asserted that when looking at the average household bill in comparison to other municipalities, Ekurhuleni is the cheapest metro to live in South Africa.
The MTREF and IDP were approved despite objections by Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA) representative Izak Berg and DA council members.
