Council passes budget championing the needs of Johannesburg residents
This is the second budget passed under the combined leadership of the DA, IFP, ACDP, UDM, COPE and VF+, with the support of the EFF, as well as the AIC who chose to support this budget.
COUNCIL passed the multi-party coalition government’s Operational and Capital Budgets and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the 2018/19 financial year in full compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act.
This is the second budget passed under the combined leadership of the DA, IFP, ACDP, UDM, COPE and VF+, with the support of the EFF, as well as the AIC who chose to support this budget.
City of Joburg executive mayor Clr Herman Mashaba said after the engagement between political parties in council over the past few weeks, an approach was taken to reduce the tariffs for water and electricity. By doing, council has achieved a caring and sensitive approach to household income which is under strain from various decisions of National and Provincial Government.
“Equally, the tariffs approved will enable the city to generate its revenue that will drive the fundamental change – Diphetogo – to our communities. The Diphetogo project, at its core, means real transformational change and prioritises investment in the service delivery backlogs that plague our communities. We have taken the decision to deprioritise the non-essential elements, cut unnecessary expenditure and re-directed these savings to battle our service delivery infrastructure backlog,” explained the mayor.
Some of the key highlights in the budget include:
• 2018/19 sees the largest share of the capital budget for roads, transport, housing, electricity and water, going up from 54 per cent in 2016/17 to 69 per cent in 2018/19.
• R120-million to site and service schemes, double the previous year’s allocation, to provide serviced sites onto which beneficiaries can be settled with full ownership.
• To accelerate the formalisation of informal settlements, R14-m is allocated for the purpose of embarking on a consolidated planning programme for informal settlements across the city.
• R50-m has been set aside for the upgrading of inner city emergency housing and rental stock.
• R60-m for the renewal and refurbishment of the following hostels: Diepkloof, Meadowlands, Helen Joseph and Madala.
• R46-m has been set aside for the acquisition of buildings in the inner city for the purpose of creating affordable housing for residents.
• R117-m for the electrification of informal settlements.
• R45-m for the installation of new public lighting city-wide, including our informal settlements, as well as an additional R20-m for the repairs and maintenance of existing public lighting within the city.
• Johannesburg Water is allocated a capital amount of R3.1-billion over the medium term and R10.6-b in operating expenditure which will reduce the number of pipe bursts by 6 000 leaks.
• Pikitup is allocated a medium-term budget of R771-m, as well as R2.3-b in operational expenditure. This will support additional cleaning shifts within the inner city, as well as address the dilapidated conditions of Pikitup facilities. Pikitup’s operating budget will also pave the way for the filling of 1 400 funded vacancies in their frontline service delivery capacity.
• R30-m in operational expenditure has been allocated to the Departments of Health and Social Development to fully capacitate the city’s free Community Substance Abuse Treatment Centres.
• R20-m is allocated to continue running extended operating hours within 11 of city’s clinics.
• Public Safety has been allocated a medium-term capital budget of R260-m for both Emergency Management Services (EMS) and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD). This budget will also be utilised for the continued training of 1 500 JMPD recruits who will soon join law enforcement efforts.
• The Department of Economic Development receives an operating budget of R223-m and R30-m in capital budget over the medium term. This includes funds to complete the development of the Job Seekers’ Database which will effectively replace Jozi@Work, and do away with middle-men determining access to these opportunities.
• R25-m to construct informal trading facilities in Rosebank Linear Park, Dobsonville and the inner city to support informal traders and provide them a space to grow their businesses.
• R627-m of the national Public Transport Network Grant to finish the Rea Vaya Phase 1C services which will run between Sandton, Alexandra, Greenstone and the CBD.
• R250-m for road rehabilitation and reconstruction and R181-m for the rehabilitation of bridges.
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