On March 31, AbaQulusi Council deliberated on the draft Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and budget. During his presentation before Council, AbaQulusi Mayor, Mncedisi Maphisa highlighted some of the budget items and began with an outline of the process so far.
“With the economy still undergoing recovery, we are required to pursue different outlooks in order to address the challenges ahead. Our strategies and interventions in trying to achieve economic stability include expanding public sector investments in infrastructure through capital programmes, addressing not only backlogs but also new investments such as sustainable job creation, creating an environment for investment in job creation, ensuring timely delivery of capital programmes, implementation of the National Development Plan, and implementing cost-saving measures to eliminate non-priority spending.”
Cllr Maphisa admitted that revenue and cash flow were expected to remain under pressure, and said the municipality needed to adopt a conservative approach when projecting expected revenue and cash receipts. AbaQulusi’s total operating revenue has increased from R690-million in the Adjustment Budget to R827-million in 2022/2023 Draft Budget – this is mostly due to the increase in funding from services rendered.
Electricity charges are down from 14% last year to 9.6% this year. However, Cllr Maphisa said the rate for power was still to be submitted to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) for approval. Property rates have increased to 4,8% from 4%, while water, refuse and sanitation increased from 4% to 4.8%. The Mayor further emphasised that the focus points of this year’s budget this year were to improve the efficiency of the municipality, by redirecting spending to priority areas. As a result, departmental budgets have been cut in selected areas.
“It must be noted that expenditure on non-essentials such as catering, subsistence and traveling, and other ‘nice to haves’ have been reduced, in order to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Circulars 78 and 79, as well as the MFMA Circular 82 relating to cost containment measures.”
The draft IDP and Budget is now open for public comment – these documents have been made available on the AbaQulusi website and are available at the AbaQulusi main offices on request. In conclusion, Cllr Maphisa said he will soon be leading the IDP and Budget roadshows into all 23 wards, to give residents an opportunity to comment and make contributions before the final approval of these documents is given.
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