Metro budget rejected for second time – with deadline looming

WITH less than three weeks to go before the legislated deadline for it to be passed, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s budget for the next financial year has been rejected yet again.

While the ANC claimed the budget was biased toward the Bay’s affluent areas and did not prioritise previously disadvantaged areas, ignoring the 80-20 principle, an analysis by The Herald of the allocations for ward-based projects found that about 90% of the money going toward capital projects in wards would be directed toward the townships and northern areas. And acting chief financial officer Jackson Ngcelwane said the percentage was actually more likely about 95% of the capital budget.

He said this would have been evident had he been given the opportunity to present the budget to the council yesterday.

The R12-billion draft budget for the 2018-19 financial year was first tabled last week, but was rejected by opposition parties.

At yesterday’s council meeting, after receiving the updated ward-based budget allocations only in the morning, councillors were given 30 minutes to peruse the document.

The ANC, EFF and UDM councillors did not return after the caucus break.

Some of the biggest allocations for projects in the Bay’s 60 wards include: R82.3-million for Ward 4 (Walmer/Gqeberha), R54-million for Ward 29 ( Booysen Park/KwaNoxolo), R266-million for Ward 41 (Joe Slovo), R61-million for Ward 54 (Motherwell NU29) and R65-million for Wells Estate.

ANC councillor Rory Riordan said he believed only half of the capital budget was going toward previously disadvantaged areas, and the municipality was hiding projects for suburbs under the guise of “support services”. This, he

believed, was to make the ward allocations for townships and the northern areas appear bigger.

Ngcelwane, however, said the projects under support services were for the benefit of the entire metro, hence they were not grouped under the ward allocations.

The DA and its coalition partners the ACDP, COPE and Patriotic Alliance – with their combined 60 seats – need the support of at least one opposition councillor to pass the budget.

Should they fail to pass the document by June 30, – as the new financial year kicks in next month – cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa would have to intervene.

The constitution states that if a municipality does not fulfil its obligation to approve a budget, the provincial executive must take steps to ensure the budget is approved, including dissolving the municipal council.

If the council is dissolved, an administrator would have to be appointed and a temporary budget approved, and fresh elections would then have to be held within three months.

The council will reconvene on Tuesday for a third attempt at passing the budget.

Yesterday, the minority parties – EFF, UDM, UF and AIC – said debating the budget would be illegal as the document was not accompanied by a quality certificate signed by city manager Johann Mettler.

However, Mettler said the legislation required that he sign the budget once it had been adopted by the council. He would, however, seek legal advice. He also warned delays in adopting the budget meant procurement processes were at a standstill.

“These delays may have a devastating effect on the ability of the administration to spend the operational and capital budgets.

“With these delays, we are holding back on procurement processes due to budget uncertainty.

“This, in effect, robs us of three months in which to plan to spend.”

Mayoral committee member in charge of budget and treasury Retief Odendaal said the ward-based budget took into account all submissions from ward councillors.

“This budget has been reworked and takes into consideration the submissions.

“We might find councillors that are unhappy because certain projects have now been moved and have been reallocated.”

AIC councillor Thsonono Buyeye said:“We understand the implications that this might bring and we are not in favour of having the municipality put under administration.”

The United Front’s Mkhuseli Mtsila said they needed time to peruse the budget thoroughly.