Heated debates over KwaDukuza draft budget
Ratepayers called for the proposed budget to be reviewed, saying it was not pro-poor as the mayor previously indicated.
Ratepayers in wards six, 22 and 30 refuse to accept the KwaDukuza municipality’s proposed seven percent rates increase for the new financial year.
Heated debates developed at the public participation, Mayoral imbizo on the 2023/24 Draft IDP and Budget at Umhlali Prep, with many questions left unanswered.
More than a hundred residents attended the meeting last Thursday.
Ratepayers wanted to know whether consequence management had been applied considering the electrical department’s reported 26% loss for the prior financial year.
The losses amount to R148-million, which ratepayers said they should not have to foot the bill for.
In terms of electrical tariff increases, municipal manager Nhlanhla Mdakane said the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) dictated electrical increases, which could see a 15% increase locally. Ratepayers said many residents would not be able to afford such a steep increase.
According to the draft budget, KDM’s electrical engineering unit would be allocated R160-million, while civil engineering and human settlements would receive just over R102-million.
Capital electrical projects planned for the upcoming financial year for the three wards include a budget of R10-million for public lighting and traffic lights, streetlight refurbishment to the tune of another R10-million, low voltage network upgrades of R343 965, medium voltage network upgrades of R1.27-million and a further R10-million for upgrades at the Shaka’s Rock substation.
Budget allocations planned for civil engineering include about R18-million for ward six, R2.8-million for ward 22, while no projects had been allocated for ward 30.
A substantial 10% increase for refuse collection was also criticised.
Salaries would increase by 5.4%, making up almost 24% of the municipality’s R2.477-billion budget, while councillor remuneration would come to R31-million.
Ratepayers called for the proposed budget to be reviewed, saying it was not pro-poor as they mayor previously indicated.
Another point of irritation was that certain documents for discussion during the meeting were not provided to attendees, with apparent accidental copies of other documents provided instead, causing confusion.
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