ELM approves budget for 2023/2024 financial year
The municipality said that it is aware of the challenges of unemployment in the local communities.
SEDIBENG.- The Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) in its recent sitting approved the budget for the 2023/2024 – 2025/2026 Medium Term Revenue Expenditure Framework (MTREF) period.
This was in line with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), which requires that the budget of a municipality must be tabled for approval 30 days before the beginning of the new financial year.
The municipality said that the task of compiling the budget was not easy as the municipality is facing many challenges among them is the payment for services by communities which impacts the ability of the municipality to provide services in a sustainable manner.
The municipality further said that it is aware of the challenges of unemployment in the local communities and the impact that an increase in rates and taxes has on the affordability of the services.
“This is the reason why ELM has kept other cost increases in line with the inflation rate.”
The ELM said that approved tariff adjustments for electricity and water, which increases are beyond the control of the municipality and are informed by increases of bulk electricity and water from Eskom and Rand Water are 15.1% and 9.2% respectively. Other tariff adjustments are 5.3% and are informed by the projected Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 5.3% which is in terms of the National Treasury MFMA Circular 123.
“We encourage all residents who can afford to pay for services to do so and those that cannot afford to register for free basic services in line with the Indigent Policy. Working together as communities and businesses we can do more.”
The municipality said that it has made an application for Eskom Debt Relief in terms of MFMA Circular 124 and must meet the conditions set by the Circular in order to have its Eskom debt to be written off.
Council approved that the application should be made in a special meeting held on 18 May 2023. Among the conditions is that the municipality must achieve collection rates of 80% in the 2023/2024 financial year and 85% and 95% in the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 financial year respectively.”
The ELM must also install electricity and water meters to qualify for the debt write-off.
“We must work together as all stakeholders in the Vaal (Residents and Business etc.) to make Emfuleni Local Municipality a Municipality of choice,” the ELM said.
