Concerns raised about draft budget
The Port Alfred Ratepayers &
Ndlambe’ Residents’ Association (PARRA) forms part of the Ratepayers Forum (NRF). On April 26, representatives from the various ratepayers associations met to discuss the Ndlambe LM Draft Budget for 2022/23.
All comments and concerns were compiled into a single document and formally submitted to Council on April 29, in time for the impending deadline. The full correspondence can be found on www.parra.org.za under “Latest News”.
However, these are some of the major concerns raised:
It was noted that the operating budget for 2022/23 is recorded as R533,015,958, with the capital expenditure amount of R149,502,571. There is an expected revenue of R648,026,685 and thus there is a shortfall of R34,491,844.
Based on the latest AuditorGeneral’s report, there was a total of R17.4 million lost in water losses and a further R6.5 Million in electricity losses. The water losses are a major cause for concern and therefore we have asked Ndlambe LM to explain what will be done to reduce these losses.
We have reiterated that all water meters should be correctly read each month. Covered water meters must be exposed and faulty meters replaced. Failing to ensure that this is done will result in incorrect billing and further losses in revenue for our Municipality.
The residents who receive free basic services, who exceed the 6kl allocation, must be appropriately billed for the excess and/or water flow should be restricted to that erf/property.
Water should be correctly metered from bulk meters down to residential meters to ensure that Ndlambe LM can accurately identify water usage and losses.
The NRF has suggested that Ndlambe LM’s debtor’s book should be sold off to interested parties and that no Ndlambe resident’s should have their municipal accounts written off, except in exceptional circumstances. Again this would be a large revenue source to Ndlambe LM.
We have been informed that numerous residents are not receiving or paying their monthly Ndlambe LM Accounts. A full audit of accounts vs Erf Numbers needs to be done and the results reported back to the NRF. New property owners, in some cases, do not receive Municipal accounts for up to six months, which needs to be rectified.
It is noted that there are “Standby Allowances” budgeted for in the amount of R1,493,321, and it would appear to the NRF to be a method of increasing employee’s salaries. We accordingly have requested that the Municipality provide information as to whether municipal employees employed by: Beaches and Jetties; Reserve Management; Community Parks; Fleet management; Licensing and Regulation and Pollution control justify standby allowances.
We firmly believe that these employees need to be cut out of the “Standby Allowances” budget, and therefore resulting in a total saving of R802,996.
The budget for food, catering and beverages of R1,111,135 must be cut drastically. The NRF stands firmly that ratepayers do not pay rates so that Municipal employees can feed themselves. It is possible to cut this by R861,616. Travel and subsistence should be cut to R300,000 from R498,102.
Furthermore, the NRF notes “Public Entertainment” in various forms amounts to R225,000 and food and beverages under the category of “Workshop” amounts to more than R164,885. Serious interrogation is required to ensure that catering/food and beverages are curtailed.
It is noted that the “Allowances” budget amounts to R11,505,109 and is being used to increase employees’ salaries. We have requested clarity on who exactly is eligible for vehicle allowances.
The budgetary allocations for “Overtime” amounts to R6,611,738. The NRF has requested clarity on what control processes there are in place for paying these large sums of money, especially when employees could do most of this work during normal weekly working hours.
The only exceptions are electricity, sewage and water problems. The rest should be taken out of the budget and therefore would result in a saving of R3,232,846. Only directors should approve overtime and should be responsible to explain the urgency of such.
The NRF accepts that overtime is necessary in crisis situations and appreciate the work done by officials, but we have noted abuse of this facility.
The budget for “Casual Labourers” is R4,743,532 and is totally unnecessary and can be reduced by R2,245,000. Casual workers should not be attending to the work that permanent employees are required to do.
A concerning matter which was noted is that the Speaker and the Mayor both receive fully maintained and fuelled cars, yet they still get paid car allowances above this amounting to R272,880.11.
The Maintenance Budget is R36,697,924. All sums are rounded to the closest R20,000 to R50,000, which the NRF believes, indicates that little thought and detail have been considered in arriving at the budgeted amount. It is noted that there is no provision in the budget for “Preventative Maintenance”.
The NRF have never seen a comprehensive policy or schedule regarding preventative maintenance which is standard among most industries and would request such.
An appeal was made by the NRF to the CFO to freeze the Property Rates of 0.0125 cents in the Rand in order to bring Ndlambe in line with other similar Municipalities whose rates are much lower. This was not granted.
The new proposed tariff is 0.0132 cents in the Rand which amounts to a 6% increase. There are other numerous revenues resources open to the Ndlambe LM which we have proposed be considered.
The ever increasing property rates results in retired people who live on fixed incomes not being able to afford the increases. It also has the effect of discouraging people investing in the local property market. Ndlambe depends largely on tourism and we do not want to discourage any investment due to the high property rates.
The NRF has noted there does not appear to any budgeting items for the Department of Infrastructure and have requested clarity .
Within the Ndlambe LM jurisdiction, all three of our main rivers (Kariega, Kowie and the Bushman’s Rivers) have continuous flows of sewage into them.
There are no specified items in the budget to firstly upgrade the sewage plants (with the increased population) and to maintain the problematic sewage pumps stations.
Ndlambe's main income is from tourism and the increase in sewage pollution on our previously pristine rivers will drive tourists to other destinations with the resultant drop in real estate sales and business incomes. The NRF would according like to see a dedicated plan to stop the sewage flowing into our rivers.
Finally one of the greatest complaints received by Ratepayers organisation is the item on their Municipal account for a “Water Availability” charge. This is budgeted to give an income of R29,714,022 in 2022/23.
If residents do not have water in their taps why must they pay a “water availability” charge? Ndlambe LM needs to address this as it is the single biggest complaint that the Ratepayers’ organisations receive and really harms the credibility of Ndlambe LM.
If you would like to support us, please consider joining PARRA. We need funding, support, skills and involvement from the diverse communities which fall within our geographical area.