ACDP comments on municipal budget
The ACDPs councillor in Mossel Bay, Jeanette Gouws, commented on the municipal budget that was approved by majority vote at the monthly council meeting on Thursday, 31 May, saying the ACDP could not accept it.
"As usual the Administration and Budget Steering Committee have produced a credible budget and should be commended.
"In an environment where resources are limited and the needs are many it cannot be easy to balance obvious essentials such as infrastructure with less obvious needs such as social and economic development."
She, however, expressed several concerns.
Electricity
Councillor Gouws said that although the many backyard dwellers place a strain on infrastructure in specific areas, they are at least paying for the electricity they use. "Not so in informal settlements. Illegal electricity connections proliferate in all informal settlements. "If distribution losses, which for Mossel Bay are 9%, are calculated by the difference we pay Eskom for electricity used and the amount of electricity used, then how much of this loss is actually for unpaid electricity? "In the budget we have projected sales for electricity at R404.6 million. While it is impossible to quantify the exact amount not paid for, it must surely amount to millions of rands. How many rands are we paying, yet not recovering from the users?
"This of course bleeds over to the paying consumer, who also has to cover the cost of bad debt," Gouws said.
"This is supported by the Provincial Treasury review which states that distribution losses declined from previous years due to capital investment in electricity infrastructure.
"These costs are avoidable if this municipality made the concerted effort to address the housing backlog.
"Once homes are formally connected their contributions would ease the loss being made. This municipality has the provincial government's approval to procure loans to provide this infrastructure. We are not reliant on outside grants.
Waste management
"Council has passed a severe increase in the cost for waste removal, 15%, which all councillors have agreed to, yet we see no united, coordinated accompanying spend in the drive to recycle.
"Landfill sites are identified as a critical risk and thus waste management is an integral part of mitigating the risk." Councillor Gouws expressed her concern that, although budgeted for, skips are not necessarily placed in the informal areas she visits.
She said her concern was that the budget for recycling bins was not spent at all, and that blue bags for recycling were not provided in many areas in Mossel Bay.
"Of the budgeted amount for bulk containers as at 31 March only R157 000 was spent, with no commitments for further expenditure in the financial year.
"Money must be directed towards addressing the needs in informal settlements and diverted from non-essentials like a new vehicle for the mayor."
Greening of areas will also assist in the diminishing of illegal dumping, Councillor Gouws said.
Expenditure for the needy
“One of the realities of extreme poverty, inequality and uneven urban development is the infrastructure backlog in formerly disadvantaged areas, including the informal settlements. Provincial Treasury, in their assessment of the municipal IDP and budget has encouraged the municipality to prioritise service and infrastructure provision.
“While advantaged areas get sidewalk upgrades, without evidence of a concerted and serious effort to address the backlogs as a priority,” the ACDP cannot accept the budget.