From this week until Wednesday, April 23, the metro will hold the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Budget meetings with the communities in the municipality’s 20 customer care areas.

The meetings in various areas across the metro will start at 6pm to discuss the draft IDP and Budget with communities.

The local meeting will take place at the Brakpan Indoor Sports Centre on Wednesday, April 16.

Amongst the issues expected to top the agenda are the proposed new tariffs, the new valuation roll, credit control and indigent policies as well as budget proposals related to capital projects across Ekurhuleni.

Residents will use the occasion to influence how development in Ekurhuleni should happen and which programmes must be budgeted for.

This integrated development planning is a process through which municipalities prepare a strategic development plan which extends over a five-year period.  This then guides and informs all planning, budgeting, management and decision-making processes in the municipality.

It is important to note that the meetings follow a consultative process on the review of the municipal’s Integrated Development Plan with its 101 wards during September to October last year 2013 to get proposals on the draft IDP 2014-2018 and draft Multiyear Budget 2014/15/16/17.

The meetings seek to achieve acceptability of these proposals by communities before the draft IDP and Budget will be approved in May 2014.

Over and above these meetings, residents and stakeholders can from now until April 30 access the IDP and Budget documents which are open for comment.

These can be viewed electronically at any time via www.ekurhuleni.gov.za or at public libraries and Customer Care Centres during office hours.

Comments can be filled in and dropped into Budget Tips boxes at the mentioned offices or emailed to budgettips@ekurhuleni.gov.za

Public enquiries can also be made by contacting the IDP office on 011 999 6760/1/2/3.