TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY BUDGET 2006/2007
SPEECH BY COUNCILLOR RICHARD DINKELMANN (ACDP)
31 MAY 2006
Mr. Speaker,
Thank you.
President Mbeki, during his State of the Nation address in February
this year said that South Africa has entered an Age of Hope. The
economic growth rate is close to 5%; the inflation rate is between 3
and 4%, the consumer confidence index is the highest it has been for 25
years, and 84% of people surveyed think that South Africa holds a happy
future for all racial groups.
Our Mayor, during her State of the City address on Saturday spoke of a
Dawn of new Hope, that South Africa was a miracle country, and that
although the ANC’s mandate to govern in the Metro had been
renewed, the party political programme ended there and that this Local
Authority becomes the custodian of the hopes, needs and aspirations of
all the citizens of our beautiful City. We applaud you for that,
Madam Mayor!
With this positive outlook, the Tshwane Metro is facing a new chapter
of its history. The newly elected Mayor and her team have the
difficult task of balancing the great needs of the community on the one
hand with the limited financial resources at their disposal.
The backlogs on the capital side are immense--specifically with regard
to the roads & stormwater infrastructure in the township
areas. More than 2000 kilometers of streets with proper
stormwater drainage have to be built. Clean water and sanitation
have to be provided to thousands of households. Sixty five
informal settlements have to be dealt with.
The ACDP agrees that these priorities have to be met, and when
measuring the immense needs against the available funds, we can accept
the proposed 6% across-the-board increase in all tariffs, although it
is 2.5% higher than inflation.
Mr. Speaker, we are saying to the Mayor and her team -- we will hold
you accountable to ensure that service delivery levels improve, and
that the money is applied wisely.
The ACDP has some concerns and reservations:
The provision for bad debt, at R106.6 million, is very
high. We will only be able to comply with our constitutional
mandate of sustainable service delivery if the culture of non-payment
is broken. The report seeking to write off R119.9 million of
indigent debts, cannot be accepted. The ACDP has great sympathy
with the poor, and we supported the initial write-off of debt upon
registration. However, we don’t understand how it is
possible to allow people to incur more debt even if you know they
cannot pay.
We are concerned about the low increase in the operational
budget of the Metro Police at only 3.6%. What are we saying to
our citizens? Is their safety not important to us? Many
residents have complained to us saying that they have never seen a
Metro Police Official in their neighbourhood. The Mayor promised
a doubling of the number of Metro Policemen. Let’s deliver
on that one!
The ACDP also questions the R30 million p.a., or R90
million over the next 3 years budgeted for the OITPS. This
"integrated management system" was initially approved at a budget of
less than R100 million. It is already operational, and now we are
asked to approve an additional R90 million. How much more will
our ratepayers have to cough up before we have a working solution?
We cannot forget that the City also has other needs -- in
the East and the South -- the so-called "Developed Areas". These
areas are developing further and also need investment. The recent
frequent power failures in these areas bear testimony to the fact that
the ANC-led Council in the previous term spent far too little money in
these areas. A stable supply of electricity is crucial for
businesses to operate successfully, creating jobs and providing further
income for the Municipality. The budget, especially on the
capital side is still not adequately addressing these needs.
Despite our reservations the ACDP will support this budget.
We also wish to express our thanks to the MMC for Finance & Audit,
the acting CFO and her staff for their hard work during the compilation
of this budget. It has been an extraordinary effort, in a very
short time.
Madam Mayor -- faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. And now remain faith, hope &
love, but the greatest of these is love.
I thank you!
Richard Dinkelmann
ACDP Councillor: Tshwane Metro
rwdinkel@mweb.co.za
+27 83 263 2664 (mobile)
+27 86 671 9044 (fax)