Draft budget to the people for participation

Residents and business people from the city cluster of Polokwane Municipality arrived in their numbers to be briefed on the municipality’s Draft IDP/Budget for 2022/23 at a public participation meeting at Jack Botes Hall on Friday evening.

Before the relevant officials provided insight into the drafts of the Integrated Development Plan and the proposed budget and tariffs for the 2022/23 financial year that will start on July 1, Mayor John Mpe took the podium to deliver an opening address and explained that similar briefing sessions with traditional leaders as well as other clusters have taken place earlier in the week and that the inputs received will be considered before the final IDP/Budget is tabled in council for approval.

Mpe said that the sustainable and adequate provision of potable water to all households in the municipality is the municipality’s biggest challenge and that the municipality has to rely on Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) for the provision of the major portion of water required to cater for the needs of the city.

The contribution from LNW is augmented with water from the municipality’s own sources such as bore holes but it is not enough and it is a fact that the output of LNW is constantly unreliable and insufficient, Mpe said.

Mpe said that there is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. “We are engaging with the minister of Water and Sanitation and are working hard towards Polokwane being established as a water services authority and in doing so, we will have access to the assets and funds that are currently managed by LNW and that are vital to allow us to manage the facility in the interests of our community. We hope to see Polokwane Water in operation in the near future,” Mpe said.