Cape Town - Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille defended her R31.5 billion budget tabled in council on Wednesday, saying the city had an “overwhelming focus on the poor” with R11.1bn, or almost 57 percent of the services budget, allocated to poorer areas.
The total budget for services provision is R19.6bn.
The budget for 2013/14 was passed on Wednesday with 130 out of 195 councillors voting in favour, 61 against, three abstaining, and one who did not vote.
De Lille got a standing ovation from DA councillors, but faced continual heckling from opposition benches.
After the debate, opposition parties accused the DA of failing to address pressing challenges such as housing and the city’s social ills.
De Lille again came under fire for underspending in the current budget, with ANC chief whip Xolani Sotashe saying this showed the DA was unable to keep its promises.
Unpacking the services budget allocation, De Lille said around 56.8 percent would be spent in poorer areas. “Despite what the critics say, the evidence is clear: this city has an overwhelming focus on the poor,” she said.
Of the R31.5bn budget, the biggest allocation goes to utility services, with a capital budget of R2bn and an operating budget of R15bn for the provision of sanitation, water, electricity and refuse removal.
“This budgetary commitment is the very real expression of our commitment to making sure that the lights are on, the water is running and refuse is collected for all residents,” De Lille said.
Outlining utility services’ most significant projects, De Lille said R63m would be spent on the backyarders programme, R127m on the electrification of informal settlements and R150m on upgrading facilities.
The second most significant allocation went to transport, roads and stormwater, with a capital budget of R1.4bn and an operating budget of R1.8bn.
Human settlements received the third biggest portion, with a capital allocation of R627m and an operating budget of R1.1bn. Main projects include a R100m upgrade to Manenberg council rental units, R87m for the upgrading of the Langa hostels, R61m for upgrades at Hanover Park council rental units and R20m for the Delft Hague housing project.
The human settlements directorate would also spend R38m on the backyarders and informal settlements upgrade.
Of the total budget, the operating budget is R26.1bn while the capital budget is R5.4bn.
De Lille said the city’s revenue for the upcoming financial year was expected to increase by over eight percent to R25.8bn.
“In terms of generating revenue, as local government, we are able to charge a fee for the use of services that we provide.
“The approach that we follow in Cape Town is to ensure that we generate enough revenue to be able to cross-subsidise services for the poor,” De Lille said.
The city will institute various tariff increases this year but De Lille said there would also be cost cuts including “a raft of austerity measures applied to every department including the reduction of catering and entertainment costs”.
De Lille said free basic services would be given to properties valued at less than R400 000 or households where the monthly income was R3 000 or less.
Other changes to help low income households include a 75-percent rates rebate to households with an income of between R3 500 and R4 000 and a 50-percent rates rebate for households with an income of between R4 000 and R4 500.
Sotashe said the ANC was disappointed to be given only a few minutes to debate the budget and had not had enough time to examine it.
He said up to May 24 this year the city had spent only R1.3bn of its R2.1bn utility services budget. The financial year ends next month.
Human settlements spent R415m of its R647m budget, while what Sotashe called the “biggest embarrassment” was transport, roads and stormwater which had spent only R1.4bn of its R2.6bn budget.
Of its R9.5m budget, up until May 24, the social development directorate spent R2.7m.
“It is really embarrassing. There is no way those directorates are going to spend the remaining budgets in just over 30 days. If the city speaks about investment and caring then they should spend their budgets,” Sotashe said.
ANC councillor Peter Gabriel said: “Listening to the list of projects of the mayco members is like going through a Pick n Pay grocery list. You can boast about all the best ingredients but your cake can still be a flop.
“On service delivery the DA has flopped. Your claim that the majority of the budget is spent on the poor is election propaganda. Even if it were so then you should spend at least 80 percent of the budget to address the problems apartheid left behind.”
ACDP councillor Ferlon Christians blasted the rates increases. “Under the DA rule from 2008/09 to 2013/14 the services have consistently increased,” he said.
He said cumulatively the increases amounted to a 44.5 percent rates increase, a 54.3 percent increase in solid waste charges, a 55.7 percent increase in sanitation, a 61.9 percent increase for water and a 132.7 percent increase in electricity charges.
African Muslim Party (AMP) councillor Wasfie Hassiem asked: “Why don’t we close the tap on wasteful expenditure like the big white elephant in the room – the Cape Town Stadium?”
After a heated debate, De Lille responded to criticism, saying: “If the ANC votes against the budget, they vote against the majority of the budget being spent on the poor.”
ANC councillors voted against it, with Sotashe saying: “This is not the budget of the poor, we don’t buy that. De Lille must not play with the emotions of the poor.”
Cape Times