Imbizo timing slammed
Wards two, three, six and 19 will receive a R58 572 204 slice of the capital budget pie.
IN spite of requests from AfriForum for a change of date and complaints about the timing, the Hibiscus Coast Municipality cluster five mayoral draft budget imbizo took place in Uvongo last Friday evening, at the start of a long weekend and just as Africa Bike Week was starting to accelerate.
Cluster five incorporates wards two, three, six and 19. Although the imbizo was fairly well attended, South Coast business people from these areas pointed out that this was one of the busiest times of the year for them and a number of them said they hadn’t been able to get there.
At the meeting Mayor Cynthia Mqwebu pointed out that the municipality was legally obliged to consult with the community after the draft budget had been tabled. The process of community budget izimbizo allowed members of the public to make recommendations on the proposed budget, in the true spirit and meaning of public participation and transparency, she said.
However, a businessman who was unable to attend the meeting said the inconvenient time and date precluded many from participating and compromised the spirit of transparency. As it turned out, the time and date of the meeting wasn’t even convenient for the mayor, She had to leave early to attend an official Africa Bike Week function.
The Hibiscus Coast Municipality draft budget for the 2015/2016 financial year totals R903 685 015, with R150 824 504 set aside for the capital budget and R750 000 000 for the operational budget. The proposed rates increase for the forthcoming year is seven percent, with the proposed increase in electricity rates set at 12 percent.
Capital budget funding comes from a municipal infrastructure grant of R4,8-million, a further R6,8-million from the Department of Energy, R2-million from the Department of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs, R51-million from KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human settlement, R400 000 from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation, with other internally generated funds totalling R42-million.
Funds set aside for outreach and development support include R1,9-million for ward committee allowances; R596 000 for registration; R1,38-million for youth empowerment; R1,18-million for women, the disabled, children, farm workers and senior citizens; a R1,6-million grant to the South Coast Development Agency; R529 000 to local economic development; R1,9-million for the Food for Waste project; R500 000 for the Hibiscus Coast Municipality beach festival; over R1-million for poverty alleviation projects; R598 900 for disaster relief; R3-million for street lights and robots; R1-million for the expanded public works programme; R3-million for plant hire; R2,5-million for indigents’ support; R2,5-million for water charges; R5,29-million for refuse site disposal charges and R1,9-million for refuse bags.
Cluster five will receive a R58 572 204 slice of the capital budget pie. This will be shared out as follows:
Masinenge slum clearance housing in ward three – R45 568 730; work on Link Road in Southbroom, ward two – R3-million; street lights in ward two – R187 474; the reinstatement of Shepstone Road in Manaba, ward 19 – R350 000; streetlights in ward six – R211 000; Masinenge electrification (phase 1, 354 sites) in ward three – R3 894 000; streetlights in ward 19 – R211 000; Betania sportsfield upgrade in ward three – R2 500 000; a crèche in ward two – R150 000; a traffic signal for the Marine Drive and Knox Gore Road intersection in wards three and ward 19 – R100 000; Magnolia Avenue upgrade in ward six – R100 000; Smith Street upgrade in ward six – R100 000; Margate beachfront development – R2-million; and rehabilitation of Beach Road in ward two – R100 000.
