Municipal funding falls short, says Salga

LOCAL government pleaded for more funds from the Treasury, after it was allocated 9.1 percent of the total budget, as it believed the money would not be enough to deliver basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) told MPs on Friday that after doing a cost analysis they had found that there was a funding gap in the critical service delivery areas.

Chairman of the national working group on finance at Salga, Subesh Pillay, told members of the standing committee on appropriations, during their briefing on the Division of Revenue Bill, that they would raise their concerns with the Treasury at their meeting in June.

He would not say how much they needed from the Treasury, but said there was a huge shortfall in the allocation.

In the Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene last month, local government was allocated R99.7 billion of the total allocation for 2015/16.

But Pillay said this allocation was not enough to meet local government challenges.

“It is in everyone’s interest that local government is properly resourced to meet the challenges (of water provision, sanitation and electricity).”

DA MP Alan Ross McLoughlin urged Salga to put pressure on the Treasury to raise the allocation to local government.

He agreed that 9.1 percent was insufficient to provide basic services.

McLoughlin was supported by New Freedom Party MP Ahmed Shaik Emam that the 9.1 percent allocation was very low. However, Emam was also quick to point out that municipalities were struggling to spend because of inefficiencies.

Another DA MP, Elza van Lingen, said she wanted to see Salga’s plan for spending the extra allocation it wanted. She said Salga had to indicate whether it wanted 20 percent of the allocation or not. She said all she had seen from the organisation was its moaning about receiving 9.1 percent.

Pillay said the issue of allocation was a matter they needed to raise based on principle. “If you look at the issue of funding, if we don’t address principled matters, the issue of the division of revenue won’t be addressed.”

In addition, Salga was in discussion with the Treasury on having a consolidated grant instead of myriad grants.