Flawed budget detrimental to residents
An unrealistic budget drafted by the Tshwane council will see massive under-spending on service delivery, the DA has claimed.
Stephané Bothma
An ‘unrealistic and unattainable’ Adjustments Budget submitted by the Tshwane metro has been rejected by the national treasury.
For the first time in Pretoria’s history, the treasury had decided to refer the budget back for reconsideration and redrafting by the Tshwane council, DA mayoral candidate Solly Msimanga said.
But, to make matters worse, the newly drawn-up Adjustments Budget to be re-tabled was just as disastrous for the city, Msimanga said.
“If this (new) Adjustments Budget is allowed to stand, the metro will again fail to collect more than R1 billion of its revenue.
“It will also overspend, particularly on items that are irregular expenditure and it will again this year have to cut back on essential maintenance on an ever ageing and ever more failing infrastructure to the detriment of residents.”
However, the City of Tshwane refuted the DA’s assertion that the budget had been referred back by national treasury.
“There is nothing unbecoming with the current process and the adjustment re-tabling was as a result of a genuine and frank discussion with national treasury informed by the intergovernmental fiscal framework,” said Tshwane mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale.
The re-tabling was but a corrective and informed step by Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Manale said.
“The decision to re-table the budget came after considering all material factors and ensuring we have a realistic budget based on our needs and projected commitment to our creditors, investors, the national government as a guarantor of such commitment and our service delivery commitments.”
Manale said the adjustment budget reflected an improved surplus from the original budget and did not demonstrate anything near a deficit or planned overspending.
But, Msimanga stuck to his guns, saying this poor milestone in the history of the capital city was yet another sign of declining standards of budgeting and financial management by the council.
“Ramokgopa failed to collect more than R1 billion of the city’s revenue and as a result was forced last year to underspend on the maintenance of the city’s infrastructure to the extent of R780 million – directly affecting consumers who are being hit by increased power outages as the city’s grid is failing,” Msimanga said.
He said a notable increase in leaks and pipe bursts as a result of lack of maintenance of the ageing water reticulation system and ever more potholed roads would forever be Ramokgopa’s and the ANC’s legacy in the metro.
Msimanga pointed out that the DA had vociferously opposed the city’s Adjustments Budget to the extent of registering individual votes against this Adjustments Budget in council last month for reasons that this budget was unfunded, unrealistic and unattainable.
“After lengthy debate in council, ANC councillors portrayed defiance when they barely managed a majority to approve the Adjustments Budget that has now subsequently been referred back to council for reconsideration by national treasury on the same grounds on which the DA had opposed it initially.”
This vindicated the DA position that Ramokgopa’s budget did not balance.
Msimanga said the adjusted budget that would be re-tabled was still flawed.
“Rather than reduce expenditure to the level of realistically anticipated revenue, it has now simply juggled the revenue assumptions to calculate anticipated revenue at a rate of collection that this government has never achieved in the last five years,” he said.
He stressed that the DA would again oppose the adjusted Adjustment Budget on the basis that it was unrealistic, unattainable and contained irregular expenditure.
“We will again ask national treasury to refer the ‘adjusted’ Adjustments Budget back to Council on the same basis it referred the original back until Ramokgopa’s administration gets this right.”
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