DA in Govan Mbeki votes against unfunded and increased service delivery budget for 2023/24
The new Troika coalition, ANC+EFF+ATM, forced an unfunded budget against opposition objections.
The Council of Govan Mbeki Municipality convened on Wednesday 31 May 2023 to consider, in particular, the new budget. The council consist of 63 councillors of which the ANC has 26 Cllr’s, the DA has 17, the EFF has 14, VF+ has 3, ARP has 2, IFP has one and ATM has one.
During a lengthy debate by the DA and even the ANC’s coalition partner, a vote was called to accept or reject the budget. The Troika used their numbers to push the acceptance of the budget.
James Masango, DA councillor in Govan Mbeki municipality, said that the presentation of an R3 billion unfunded budget by Govan Mbeki municipality is a repetition of their previously passed budgets which contain unrealistic objectives.
Despite the municipality’s financial mismanagement and service delivery shortcomings, this budget was passed, thanks to the coalition of the ANC, EFF and ATM.
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“The DA rejected this budget on the basis that the funding plan has not been modernised to address the challenges that residents are faced with,” said Masango, “The truth of the matter is that the majority of our residents are struggling to make ends meet and the Govan Mbeki economy is on a downward spiral.”
“Therefore, charging ratepayers more for services that are non-existent is a no-brainer. The municipality is still losing 35% of its water and 75% of its electricity. Yet, there is no plan in sight as to how these losses will be mitigated.”
“The DA believes that the prices of services should be affordable and that ward committees should engage and advise council on the affordable rates for communities. Effective and cost-efficient service delivery should be encouraged,” continued Masango, “It’s even more concerning that the municipality is still battling with implementing debtors and creditors policies in order to achieve maximum revenue collection.”
The DA understands that the approval of a budget in municipalities is one of the most important tasks undertaken by councillors.
Municipalities have the responsibility of ensuring there are enough funds for their planned expenditure to make sure that their budget is balanced. However, this is not the case in Govan Mbeki.
This contravenes Section 215 of the Constitution which indicates that this budget must adhere to the national legislation since municipal budgets are regulated by the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 (MFMA).
“The DA will follow up with the Department of CoGTA, as previously stated in our letter to the department, Govan Mbeki needs to be placed under administration,” stated Masango
