THE Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini is increasingly concerned about the state of the city’s finances.
According to Councillor Nicole Graham, DA eThekwini Caucus Leader , the latest budget statement, tabled at the March Council meeting, shows a sharp decrease in projected income but massive anticipated over-expenditure.
She said irregular expenditure continues to rise and the city’s debt is over R12 billion.
“The report on decreased revenue effectively blames savvy and green consumers for the decreased revenue in the water and electricity departments. The City claims energy efficiency interventions and water conservation campaigns mean the city will lose R1 087 000 in electricity, water and sanitation revenue. The DA believes that faulty billing from the troubled Revenue Management System (RMS) is also to blame,” she said.
Graham said while the city loses income, EPWP expenditure is expected to soar to R240 million in the current financial year.
“Only R75 million was budgeted for this spend, which is undoubtedly increasing due to the looming national election,” she said.
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Graham said Metro Police also projected over expenditure of R122 million for the year, while eThekwini communities were no safer for it.
She said much of this money was spent on protecting councillors and VIPs when it should be used for ordinary people.
“Irregular expenditure is completely out of control in the city, sitting at R318 million as of the end of February. With a number of months to go before the end of the financial year, it’s clear that the Auditor General will not be pleased with eThekwini’s state of affairs,” she said.
Lastly, Graham revealed that the municipality’s debt totalled a staggering R12,3 billion.
She said R5,3 billion of this was considered ‘doubtful’ and was thus included in the provision for bad debt.
She said the DA wants those who are guilty of irregular expenditure to be held accountable and for the city to practice consequence management.
She added that the City needed to recover the debt owed to it, especially the debt owed by Tansnat, parastatals and government, and it had to curb over expenditure and ensure money is spent on service delivery.
Sign petition to say ‘no’ to tariff hikes
The DA is encouraging residents to sign a petition against proposed tariff hikes in eThekwini.
Interest residents can access the petition at https://bit.ly/2CUxsSY.
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