Local municipalities suffer budget cuts

Many KZN municipalities suffered a major blow when National Treasury reduced the budget allocation for the 2022/23 financial year.

One such municipality was Big 5 Hlabisa, whose budget was cut by R40-million.

This was revealed by Big 5 Hlabisa Mayor Comfort Khumalo at the handover of the revamped community hall in Ngodini near Hluhluwe last Friday.

“This [budget cut] will have a huge negative impact on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which is regarded as a poverty alleviation project.

“We used to receive R270-million in the form of grants from the national government, but in this financial year, we received only R230-million. This has forced us to rework our budget,” said Khumalo.

The mayor further urged residents to safeguard and take ownership of the community hall and protect it from being vandalised.

Members of the community who attended the event were unhappy with the news. One resident, Mbuso Zikhali, said it would have a huge impact, especially on those who depend mainly on the EPWP to make ends meet for their families.

“Most of this family are women. They do not have any source of income, but depend on the monthly stipend they received from the municipality,” said Zikhali.

National Treasury recently announced a reduced KZN Cogta allocation budget, down by R100-million.

Many municipalities, especially in KZN, such as Newcastle, received a R50-million budget cut, while uThukela District suffered a R100-million budget cut, as did eThekwini Metro.

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