Good result report spurs BCM to improve further

Buffalo City Metro is on a new mission to achieve excellent financial performance and budget implementation results after attaining “good results” in the last financial year which ended in June.

BCM mayor Xola Pakati tabled the statement of financial performance and implementation of the 2017-18 budget report to the council three weeks ago where he received applause from fellow councillors.

In his report Pakati said as at June 30 the metro’s revenue collection rate had increased to 93.32%, compared to the previous year’s 88.60%.

However, capital expenditure showed a decrease.

The metro spent R1.34bn (76%) of its 2017-18 adjusted capital budget of R1.77bn.

Last year 85% was spent.

Ward 25 ANC councillor Crosby Kolela said: “We should commend the officials. Collection rate has increased, to achieve 6% [from May 2018] is not a child’s play.

“We need to design a plan so that we cannot regress. We commend the capital expenditure and we say we don’t want 76% in the foreseeable future, we want 100% however we know the challenges faced.

“We know that you have done a good job. This 76% (capital expenditure) should translate to service delivery on the ground.”

The EFF’s caucus leader Chumani Matiwane however accused metro officials of being corrupt and being involved in a “sophisticated fiscal dumping scheme”.

“The EFF moves that there is the introduction of business plans by the directorates to assist the curbing of fiscal dumping where we see the acceleration of spending in the last quarter of the financial year.

“This is done by the use of deviations from normal procurement process to award tenders.”

DA councillor Roy Angelbeck raised concerns about the high overtime spending of close to R140m.

He said the amount was extreme and said the issue had been raised a number of times in council.

Pakati responded saying: “We have put in a mechanism to curb overtime. We have issued a directive that overtime should be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act.”

He said BCM had to avoid delays in spending, as had happened in the previous financial year because “any regression from where we are right now would be an embarrassment to all of us.”

“We have an obligation to maintain the records and do better than what we have.”