Ekurhuleni’s financial budget breakdown

This is according to the Mayoral Member of Committee (MMC) for finance, Clr Moses Makwakwa, who delivered the budget speech on Thursday, May 29.

“Our debtors book is increasing because of outstanding payments from businesses, government and residents of Ekurhuleni,” said Makwakwa.

“We remain very concerned by the fact that we are still collecting below our target of 93 per cent whilst there is high capital pressure for service delivery,” he added.

Makwakwa said that through the implementation of the revised revenue protection and enhancement project, the city would continue the battle of improving on collection.

Makwakwa said the expenditure and revenue is R85-bn, which is made up of R28-bn in the financial year 2014/15, representing an increase of 5.7 per cent year-on-year.

Proposed tariff increases included the following:

* Cemeteries and recreational halls – zero per cent.

* Assessment rates – 7.5 per cent.

* Electricity – Eskom’s national tariff increase is 8.06 per cent, however, Ekurhuleni says it will absorb at least 1.3 per cent of Eskom charges by only passing the increase of an average of 6.3 per cent to 7.6 per cent on electricity.

* Water – 8.1 per cent increase on water for both residential and business, which is the same increase by Rand Water.

* Sanitation – eight per cent for both residential and business.

* Refuse removal – 2.4 per cent to 7.1 per cent for residents and six per cent for businesses.

“Factoring these proposed tariff increases, the average increase on accounts will be about 7.3 per cent compared to the 9.3 average increases in the 2013/14 budget. This is a clear demonstration that we are committed to broadening access and to provide affordable services,” said Makwakwa.

He pointed out that based on the National Treasury assessment made during May this year, Ekurhuleni remains the most affordable metro to live in, at an average household bill of R1 265 per month, with the highest being R1 626.

Registered indigents have been allocated just under R800-million, so they can continue receiving the following services:

* 100 per cent rebates on assessment rates.

* Free nine kiloliters of water.

* Free refuse removal.

* Free nine kiloliters of sanitation.

* 100kW of free basic electricity.

* Free burial.

Makwakwa urged all those who qualify for indigent’s packages to come forward and register so that they can also benefit from this package.

He also said that R17-m has been set aside for the Grant in Aid programme.

“Our expenditure increase of 5.7 per cent is in line with inflation, however, we strive to contain our operating costs by focusing on the following cost elements, consultancy and legal fees, uncontrolled overtime and printing and production of t-shirts,” he explained.

Makwakwa said for capital investment, Ekurhuleni would be investing R12-bn over the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework period, which is informed by its Capital Investment Framework (CIF).

R3.6-bn has been allocated for urban restructuring, R4.8-bn for upgrading and renewal and R3.6-bn for economic development.

“Our current spending pattern is a point of concern. It is the responsibility of both the political and administrative heads to ensure that we spend as per the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP) targets.

“In the previous budget speech, I made a call that there must be consequences for non-spending, as this impacts on the acceleration of service delivery and economic-growth of the city. In this regard, failure to spend will result in no compensation for performance bonuses,” emphasised Makwakwa.

Makwakwa said the city’s capital investment of R12-bn will be spent on the following: Transport, 1.7-bn (R441-m 2014/15); roads and stormwater R379-m (R135-m 2014/15); energy R1.9-bn; water and sanitation R1.3-bn; human settlement 1.2-bn; real estate R891-m; community safety R661-m (R235-m 2014/15); information and communication technology R556-m (R177-m 2014/15); environmental resources management R18-m (R6-m 2014/15); waste management R238-m (R63-m 2014/15); health and social development R423-m; sports, recreation, arts and culture R330-m (R122-m 2014/15) and city planning and economic development R174-m (R63-m 2014/15).

“A piece of exciting news is that we have allocated R120-m for skills development and bursaries,” added Makwakwa.

He added that R60-m (R44m 2014/15) had been allocated to the upgrading and construction of customer care centres.