What Ekurhuleni residents can expect from the 2016/17 financial budget
NIGEL - During a public meeting held at MacKenzieville Hall on March 16, Hannes Dednam, division head of EMM budget and finance department presented the proposed tariffs and increases to members of the community.
The purpose of the meetings was to encourage residents to engage with the metro and to make comments on the proposed budget. It meant that members of the public and other interested stakeholders were provided an opportunity to comment on the metro’s draft municipal budget.
In summary, the IDP and draft budget plan entail that EMM has a capital budget of around R5,4 billion, of which R1,4 billion is generated from internal revenue, R2,2 billion from government grants and R1,8 billion from loans. The operating budget is R35 billion, which is sourced from internal revenue (R29,8 billion), government grants (R5,2 billion), assessment rates (R4,7 billion), electricity (R14,4 billion), water and sanitation (R5,9 billion), refuse removal (R1,5 billion) and various other means of income through tariff increases (R3,3 billion).
TARIFF INCREASES:
* Main tariff increases for the new budget is proposed for sanitation (9,5% increase), water (9% increase), assessment rates (7,5% increase), refuse removal (8% increase) and energy/electricity (9,4% increase).
* Sundry tariff increases will include a proposed increase of 6,5% for cemetery and crematoria, 5% increase for building plans and a 10,66% increase for municipal bus services.
* Free basic services to the community include 6kl free water, a R150 000 reduction from property value for assessment rates, additional rates to pensioners and additional rebates to churches and non profit organisations.
* Social packages to indigent households will include 100% rebates on assessment rates, special rates on emergency services, free refuse removal, 100kWh free electricity and 9kl free water and sanitation.
In general, an amount of R457 million has been provided for a number of community involvement programmes and EMM will also be investing over R160 million to social housing projects.
Capital budget projects for Nigel will include repairing and erecting streetlights and high mast lighting structures, tarring and upgrading of roads (including fixing of potholes) and the upgrade of storm water systems, parks, stadia, sports fields, swimming pools and fencing.
One of the challenges EMM face is the high outstanding debt, which results in limited resources that make it difficult for the municipality to accommodate all needs of the community within the span of one year.
DO YOU WANT TO SUBMIT A COMMENT?
The EMM Budget tips campaign will run until March 31 and residents can still submit comments by completing a form at the pay point of Nigel Customer Care Centre, or by electronically submitting the comment form on EMM’s website, or by sending an email to budgettips@ekurhuleni.gov.za.
The draft IDP can also be viewed on the metro’s website
