Johannesburg - The Midvaal Local Municipality has unanimously approved the 2023/24 financial budget, announcing massive plans to deal with aged infrastructure and improve service delivery.
This follows extensive IDP and draft budget engagements with residents and different stakeholders across the municipality.
The Midvaal Municipality has been one of the best-performing municipalities in Gauteng. The DA-led municipality has become known for excellent administration and clean governance.
In a statement, the municipality said the budget is a result of the municipality's identification of strategic objectives and its efforts to balance them with the available resources to ensure sustainable and exceptional service delivery.
"The Gauteng provincial Treasury assessed our Budget and found that, according to the statement, the Budget was credible, relevant, and fully funded," the municipality said.
According to the municipality, the expenditure for the 2023/24 financial year is R1.8 billion. The capital budget for 2023/24 is R259 million.
The capital and operational grants account for R294m. The repair and maintenance budget makes up 12.86% of the total expenditure, which is up from 10% in the previous financial year.
"The tariff increases for assessment rates and sanitation are 6.75%, refuse removal is 7%, water 9.2% and electricity 15.1%, subject to Nersa (National Energy Regulator of South Africa) approval," the municipality said.
A total of R50m has been allocated for the electrification of Sicelo. This will ensure that communities such as Kuvukiland, extension 5 and stand 118 of Sicelo have legal electricity connections.
At least R45 million has been allocated from the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) and will be used over the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF) to electrify Savannah City as well as increase electricity capacity.
A total of R64.8m has been allocated in the MTREF to replace 57km of pipeline, which will result in a reduction of water losses. A further R21m has been allocated in the MTREF for the purchase of In terms of raids and transport, R68.5m has been allocated to roads over the MTREF. 5km of roads will be re-surfaced (overlaid), and 2km of roads will be re-gravelled logging devices and a metre reading system, as well as a telemetry pressure management smart controller system, will curb the high water losses.
Concerning crime, the municipality said the crime-prevention unit will be equipped with two high-speed vehicles. CCTV cameras will be rolled out to the western and northern regions, with an increase in licence plate recognition cameras.
"An amount of R9m has been set aside for this over the MTREF. With this budget, we, as a municipality, are confident that we will be able to continue providing excellent service delivery and prioritise the creation of an enabling environment for job opportunities," said the municipality.
The Star