Spending of funds on Ekurhuleni’s capital budget and collection of metro debt were two concerns raised at Ekurhuleni Metro’s meeting last week.
This was part of the report on the metro’s financial statements for the period July 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 reflecting, amongst others, a spending of 44.80% on the metro’s capital budget of R2.9-billion.
This part of the budget brings big projects like new clinics or roads to communities.
The departments with the lowest amount of spending were the transport department with 13.73%, human settlements (16.92%) and waste management (20.02%).
City Planning had the highest amount of spending with 76.02%.
The net operating income, the part of the budget for the metro’s day-to-day running expenses from July 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 was 2.08% lower than budgeted in its over R20-billion budget.
The department that did the best in this part of the budget was repairs and maintenance. By the end of March this department had only 13.99% less than the metro budgeted for the period July 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
The collection rate of services rendered for this period was 89.56%, while the metro’s target was 93% for the financial year.
With an average of 95.61% Springs residents paid their service accounts to the metro far above the target.
Our neighbours on our doorstep, Duduza, had the lowest collection rates with 5.25%. KwaThema had a collection rate of 59.66% and Tsakane, 61.94%.
Contributing factors to get more money into the operating budget were the increase in the income from assessment rates (2.58%), as well as from sanitation (10.33%) and water sales (3.68%), while the income from electricity sales was 7.46% less that was budgeted and refuse removal was 2.27% less.
In her comments on this item Vivian Chauke of the ANC said it seemed that the departments were not trying to reach their targets, as it was not the primary job of councillors to notify officials of potholes, water leaks or grass cutting.
About spending 44.80% of the capital budget, she said it was due to bad planning.
“If we don’t spend it now, how will we spend the money in the next 12 months?” she asked.
About Duduza’s low payment, she questioned if these residents were correctly billed.
She also said the metro had to determine how many indigent customers it had to get them the help they needed.
The acquisition of land was, according to Chauke, crucial to the metro because it seemed that Ekurhuleni did not know how many people were living in backyards.
Bruce Reid of the DA agreed with Chauke that the non-performing and spending of the metro was bad planning.
He questioned why there was an increase in income in property rates and decrease in electricity sales.
