Final budget tabled for Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality

Mayor Jabulile Mbele tabled her final Annual Budget to council at Inkosi Langalibalele Municipality (ILM), held at council chambers in Wembezi on March 30.

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Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality has submitted the Draft Annual Budget to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury and National Treasury, and it has been taken to the communities for consultation.

This process of public consultation has given the municipality an opportunity to engage with stakeholders and receive feedback.

The main issues that were raised during the public participation process were: depleted access roads (the municipality budgeted R3 million geared towards local road repairs) and areas without electricity under Eskom (the municipality will refer those accordingly and for areas under municipal distribution).

The ILM promises that the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) grant will be used to attend to the backlog and repairs, and maintenance of electricity networks has been budgeted for with a total amount of R6 million.

ILM’s total operating revenue is budgeted at R614 million.  The main contributors of revenue include electricity charges to the value of R258 million, followed by operating grants which amount to R187 million, and property rates with an amount of R126 million.

The following are the municipal grants allocation for the 2019/20 financial year: equitable share – 176 million; Financial Management Grant (FMG) – R2.5 million; Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) – R2.1 million; INEP – R7 million; museum – R386 000; Community Library Service – R633 00; provincialisation of libraries – R5.2 million.

The municipality will also receive capital grants to a total of R44 million. Capital grants include the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) to the tune of R37 million and INEP R7 million. The overall total revenue budget, when the capital grants are added, amounts to R611 million.

The total amount of grants to be received during the 2019/20 financial year is R232 million, which equates to 38% of the overall revenue budget.

For the expenditure part, the municipality budgeted R602 million: employee-related costs – R181 million; remuneration of councillors – R18 million; debt impairment – R7 million; depreciation and asset impairment – R47 million; finance charges – R9 million; bulk purchase – R242 million; other materials – R15 million; contracted services – R29 million; and other expenditure – R52 million.

“As the municipality, it is our wish to do away with the expensive transaction of leasing service delivery vehicles and the municipality must have its own vehicles. We also had the objective of improving the livelihood of our people. For the 2019/20 financial year, we will use the little we have to provide basic services to our people,” said Mrs Mbele.

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