Issued by Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality
Mayor Mduduzi Myeza tabled the 2022/23 Adjustment Budget to full council on February 27. The approval of the Adjustment Budget is coupled with the approval of the municipality’s Service Delivery & Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP), which is the ‘master plan’ made up by departmental SDBIP that details key service delivery projects and programmes, including how the approved Adjustment Budget for the 2022/23 financial year will be implemented.
Council further approved the annual report of the municipality for the 2021/22 financial year. This annual report will soon be available on the municipal website, at all satellite offices, and public libraries for public consumption and comments.
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The municipality, after five consecutive years of receiving two ‘Adverse’ and three ‘Disclaimer Audit’ opinions, has obtained a ‘Qualified Audit’ opinion from the Auditor-General. This will see the departure of the ministerial representative at the end of April this year.
Barely two months in office, Municipal Manager Sthembiso Mthembu has ensured that all managers make an analysis of their department’s finances, reprioritisation of available funds, and realistic projections for the remainder of the 2022/23 financial year.
The total operating income for the 2022/23 Adjustment Budget is R661 million against the original budget of R715 million; a decrease of R54 million. This is due to significantly dropped service charges on electricity as a result of load-shedding – which is having a tripping effect in our revenue collection efforts as the municipality – and due to fines and penalties on revenue no longer being charged by the municipality.
The total operating expenditure for the 2022/23 Adjustment Budget also decreased from R720 million in the original budget to R695 million in the Adjustment Budget.
National Treasury has gazetted a R76 million allocation for the Municipal Disaster Recovery Grants and a further R1.2 million on the Human Settlements Grant. This allocation of a combined total of R88 million in grants will see us revive damaged infrastructure, rebuild gravel roads, and resurface tar roads in Weenen and townships (Ezitendeni) and Estcourt; conduct electrification projects; and fix storm-water drains in the Estcourt CBD, Weenen CBD and residential areas (both in urban and rural settlements).
Council has further rescinded a moratorium of recruitment which paves the way for the municipality to advertise identified critical positions within the municipality.
Council has also approved the Placement Policy; its purpose is to make sure that the municipality has the correct number of employees, of the right kind, in the right place, at the right time.
There have been no adjustments made on councillor allowances and employee benefits in the current financial year.
“This Adjustment Budget for the 2022 /23 financial year, which is consistent with our revised Integrated Development Plan, is our greatest machinery to drive service delivery to our people. As the mayor, mandated by the MFMA to provide general political oversight and guidance over the financial affairs of the municipality, I will take all reasonable steps within the boundaries of the law to ensure that the municipality performs its constitutional and statutory functions, which are to provide service delivery to our residents,” said Mayor Myeza.
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