Joburg aims to direct limited resources to key priorities
EVERY municipality in South Africa is required by law to produce an Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which sets out the plans for the future over the short, medium and long term.
These plans consider issues such as spatial planning, financial management, performance targets and economic development.
Coupled with public participation sessions where mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse and members of the mayoral committee presented the IDP in all the City of Johannesburg’s seven regions, email addresses where residents and other stakeholders could make comments were shared.
The city considers these inputs when finalising the budget, tariffs, and IDP.
When considering the IDP and the city’s future plans, it is essential to note that the current state of the economy is still hobbling due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s efforts to get back on its feet.
Some of the city of Johannesburg’s statistics are the unemployment rate, which is 40.8%, youth unemployment at 54.4%, and the poverty rate at 51.7%.
We should also be aware that our population within the city is 6.2 million residents. In terms of quality of life in Joburg, we are rated at 62%, a percentage which is, of course, determined by different variants.
The city’s proposed budget for the new financial year 2022/23 is approximately R77 billion, with R7.6bn designated for capital expenditure and R69.4bn for operating costs.
Most of our revenue comes from service charges, including sanitation at 8.6%, water at 13.9%, electricity at 30.9%, and property rates at 20.1%.
Other revenue streams can be broken down into fines, penalties and forfeits, 1.3%, and licences, permits and agency services that bring in 0.5%.
Interest on external investments amount to 0.3% and facility rentals and equipment are 0.7%, which are minimal contributors to the city’s revenue.
Our revenue needs to be collected consistently as more than 40% of our capital budget is funded from our own revenue. If all our customers pay their bills in full and on time the city will be able to fulfil the vision of providing superior service delivery, thereby creating equitable living/working/playing spaces for all our residents.
The city receives certain grants from National Treasury on the basis that the conditions of the grants are met. An example is spending on set projects within a particular financial period.
There is regular progress reporting on the grant spend. If this grant funding is not spent on time, the risk to the city is that subsequent tranches of the funding will not be forthcoming. Should that take place, an immediate adjustment budget will have to be tabled in council.
Knowing the percentages that govern the income and expenditure of the city, the multi-party government is directing the limited budgets towards the essential priorities throughout each region.
These actions align with our seven mayoral priorities to create a Golden Start in the city of Johannesburg.
While the legal framework requires the municipality to make the IDP, tariffs and budget available to the public for their comments, the parties that represent the public in council can, however, vote against the approval of the budget and tariffs if they object to the proposals.
Should this happen, the council members must continue to reconsider the budget and tariffs until the required majority vote is attained.
Because the availability of funds is the constraining factor in the elements of the final budget, all public views will not be able to be incorporated in the final budget and tariffs approved by council, but we are hoping that in this first budget of the multi-party government, that everyone will feel they have been heard.