The City of Ekurhuleni’s adjustment budget was passed in council last week.
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The adjustment budget is tabled in terms of Section 28 of the Municipal Finance Management Act and is an amendment of the budget and Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework of the coalition government for the 2022/23 financial year approved in May last year.
Clr Alta de Beer, the DA member of finance oversight in Ekurhuleni, said the adjustment budget allows the government to make permissible revisions to the annual budget in response to changes that may have affected planned government spending during the financial year.
The new budget is centred on the nine priorities of the coalition government which, it is hoped, will result in better service delivery.
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There will be an increase to the Roads and Stormwater Department’s budget by over R19.17m to R264.11m to deal with potholes and streetlight repairs and maintenance throughout the city.
An additional R21.75m was allocated to the Waste Management Department to bring its total budget to R147.75m to assist with fleet breakdowns, maintenance, and the outright purchase of new waste trucks and compactors.
“These are desperately needed by the department to stabilise waste collection across the city,” said De Beer.
An extra R36.7m has been allocated to the Energy Department to assist with electricity infrastructure breakdowns, maintenance and upgrades caused by load-shedding.
“The additional R36.7m will also go a long way to ensure that the city’s 47 IPPs are brought online amid the country’s load-shedding crisis and to reduce our reliance on Eskom’s supply by more than 25%.”
The city’s operating expenditure will increase from R47.96b to R50.33b to assist with debt impairment, contracted services and bulk purchases of water and electricity.
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“These budget adjustments will give expression to the needs of residents on the ground by ensuring that water and electricity infrastructure is maintained and repaired timeously, the waste backlog is reduced, roads are maintained, potholes are patched, streetlights are fixed, and the grass is cut and maintained in parks and cemeteries across the city.”
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