Endumeni’s 2021/22 draft budget has been compiled under a cloud of staggering electricity theft, a local economy wrecked by the Covid-19 lockdown, and the inability of many to pay for service charges.

Rates and refuse removal tariffs are to increase by 5% and electricity by 14.59% – mainly caused by Eskom being granted permission to up their tariffs.

The wholesale theft of electricity in Endumeni topped R21 million for the first months of the 2020/21 financial year that started in July 2020.

Theft in Glencoe accounts for over 36% of the 18 million kilowatts lost to meter tampering. This despite the municipality-appointed electrician meter auditors continuing to inspect meters and disconnect those that have been tampered with.

Mayor Mdluli said the loss of revenue caused by electricity theft cannot be over-emphasised. “This budget includes the cost of the auditing of meters in Endumeni. Councillors and Ward Committees have been doing all they can to implement awareness initiatives concerning the electricity theft that is crippling us. We need to come up with innovative ways to curb theft and are looking at installing split meters.”

The capital budget is R28 million, which includes R5 million from the integrated electrification national grant and R15.8 million from the central government’s Municipal Infrastructure Grant.

The total operational budget is R427 million, with R148 million set aside for salaries, which equates to just over 34.6% of the budget – well down on the 41% that salaries currently soak up. The repairs and maintenance budget is just R8.5 million – or 1.9% of the budget, whereas the laid-down norm is 8%.

For the full details see this weeks Courier, out on the streets on April 22 2021

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