THE eThekwini Municipality is to allocate R14.8-billion of its medium-term capital budget to eradicating infrastructure and household service needs and backlogs in order to advance economic growth.
Structural poverty remains a challenge, with a large proportion of the city’s population still living in material income deprivation and under squalid conditions hence. R 3.4-billion of the R14.8-billion is directed to new housing developments and interim servicing of informal settlements.
The city’s consolidated R41.6-billion draft budget for the 2016/17 financial year tabled at full council earlier today by Mayor James Nxumalo is clearly pro-poor and focused on alleviating poverty and social imbalances through job creation, youth development and advancing the economy by creating an enabling platform for business to flourish .
“Provisions in this medium-term budget continue to support government’s commitment to broadening service delivery, attracting investors and expanding investment in infrastructure, while taking into account the constrained fiscal environment,” said Nxumalo.
“The city’s social package affirms our commitment to pushing back the frontiers of poverty by providing services to residents who cannot afford to pay. The cost of this social package is partially funded from the equitable share of R 2.3-billion provided by national government. This package will assist poor households with access to water, electricity and sanitation,” said Nxumalo.
The 2016/17 draft budget is made up of a capital budget of R6.7bn and an operational budget of R34.9bn.
One of the highlights of the capital budget is the almost 71 per cent attributed towards utility services, which provides basic services such as water and sanitation, electricity and refuse removal together with housing provision over the medium term expenditure framework.
The growth of the operational budget is mainly due to the bulk purchases, salary allowances and repairs and maintenance.
Tariffs have been drafted taking into account the current economic market, increase in bulk purchases cross subsidisation, slow growth percentages and the decrease in consumption of water and electricity.
“Increases in respect to bulk purchases of water and electricity beyond the control of the municipality attributes to 9.4 per cent. Eskom’s increase approved by Nersa and 11.5 per cent increase by the Umgeni water board coupled by the decrease in consumption of both these utilities due to the current drought conditions and the implementation of energy efficient initiatives,” said Nxumalo.
Proposed tariff increases are as follows:
Rates: 6.9%
Water (Domestic): 12.5%
Water (Business): 15.9%
Electricity: 7.64%
Sanitation: 9.9%
Refuse removal: 7.9%
The draft budget can be viewed at City Hall or on the municipal website, www.durban.gov.za. Once the deadline for comments has been met and amendments are considered, the new rates and tariffs will be implemented at the start of the new financial year, 1 July.
