City of Joburg finally tables its budget
Priority relief given to pensioners
The City of Johannesburg has finally passed its belated budget for the financial year 2020/2021.
Finance MMC Jolidee Matongo yesterday tabled a R68.1bn budget in a virtual council meeting. It included a capital budget of R7.5bn.
The country’s economic hub, which is run by an ANC-led coalition, failed to pass its budget by the end of June, prompting cooperative governance & traditional affairs MEC Lebogang Maile to give them a deadline until today to do so. Their failure shocked the local government sphere as it had implications at worst of the council being dissolved and placed under administration.
In the budget, Matongo prioritised relief for pensioners in light of the financial pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has turned the global economy upside down and the City of Johannesburg has not been an exception.”
He announced that the city, after public concerns, decided to withdraw the proposed fixed charges of R200 for residential and R400 for commercial prepaid electricity.
Property rates will increase by 4%, water tariffs by 6.6% and electricity by 6.23%.
“In addition to these tariff relief interventions, the pensioner income qualifying criteria has increased by 6%. This means a pensioner with a property value of below R2.5m and an income of below R10,338 for the lower limit or below R17,719 for the upper limit, will receive a 100% rebate on their rates.”
Over R1bn was set aside for job creation and small business engagement through projects such as sewer upgrades, storm water upgrades, tarring of roads and housing developments. These will be implemented in places such as Orange Farm, Lakeside, Drieziek, Kapok, Ivory Park, Ebony Park, Mayibuye, Riverlea and Kliptown.
A total of R1.2bn has been allocated for the formalisation of informal settlements over the medium term.
New fire engines will be procured at a cost of R200m.
Hostels upgrades will receive R156m and R105m will be spent on the upgrade of flats and old-age homes.
City Power has been allocated a three-year capital budget of R2.6bn to fund the provision of public lighting at R205m, the electrification of informal settlements at R498m and the electrification of mega housing projects at R100m.
Pikitup received an operating budget of R3bn for a ward-byward approach to waste management. Co-operatives will be appointed across all regions who will appoint, on a shortterm basis, at least 15 people per ward to keep the city clean.