Bridge the Gap
The municipal budget must address the needs of people in conjunction with the developmental needs of the broader community.
IDP and Budget review
Municipal finances must be one of the most challenging environments in local government. This is because the municipal budget must address the needs of people in conjunction with the developmental needs of the broader community.
The municipal budget is shaped around the policy framework of the municipality to create a better living environment for all residents of Ekurhuleni. The core challenge is always the allocation of resources to where communities identified their individual needs.
The problem is not necessarily the resource allocation but the ever changing needs of communities. Ekurhuleni is both a caring and responsive local government and as such the changing needs of communities must be acknowledged and resource allocation must be adjusted accordingly.
But what does this mean in practice? The process through which the municipality changes resource allocations in the budget is by revising the IDP as source document of the budget. The revision process has just begun.
During April Ekurhuleni undertook wide consultation with communities before finalizing the current IDP and budget through public participation. This consultation process will now be repeated to revise the IDP and budget.
MMCs and Oversight Chairpersons will hold consultative meetings in every town and customer care centre across Ekurhuleni to ensure the widest possible public input. The IDP revision meetings will be attended by municipal officials, ward councillors and ward committee members.
Residents are urged to engage with their ward councillors and ward committee members to ensure that the revised IDP and budget address any changes in the needs of the community. Residents and ward committees must request their ward councillors to explain the budget implications on their ward and the impact of resource allocation on service delivery in the community.
Ward councillors had to set the top five service delivery needs in their wards in consultation with their ward committee. During the revision process the top five priorities can be reassessed to ensure they are still relevant and remain responsive to community needs. We have a collective responsibility to participate in local government to bridge the gap and ensure a better life for all. For more details, residents can contact me directly on Diamond.Neil@ekurhuleni.gov.za
