The EFF has for the first time had a presence and influence in the running of a metro as Finance Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) in Ekurhuleni Nkululeko Dunga presented his maiden budget speech termed ‘people’s budget’.
Dunga and four other EFF councilors recently became MMC’s in a coalition government that includes the ANC, ATM and Patriotic Alliance.
Dunga said Ekurhuleni’s poor had been neglected and that the current budget will restore their dignity.
“This budget will reflect what has been the demands of the people through the Integrated Development Program (IDP) consultative period. The people of Thembisa, we heard you very well when you said, you want clean and drinkable water.
“The people of Khathorus, we heard you very well when you said, you want reliable electricity. The people of Kempton Park, we heard you when you said, you want regular refuse collection.
“The people of Kwa-Thema, Reiger Park, and Germiston, we heard you very well when you said you want sustainable jobs for the youth. We have heard you. Your views will find expression in the People’s Budget. This is your budget.
“The proposed revenue of the overall budget we are speaking to today is R55,3 billion, which is made up of R22 billion from the sale of electricity, R8,6 billion from property rates, R6,7 billion from water revenue, R3,2 billion from sanitation revenue, R1,8 billion from refuse revenue, R1,3 billion from interest earned on outstanding debts and just under R5 billion from interest earned on investments, rental of facilities and equipment, licenses and permits. We also receive R6,2 billion from other revenue sources such as national and provincial.
“As the immediate intervention, we have allocated R2.8 billion for environment and waste management, and we will use R54 million of the allocated budget to buy waste collection trucks. As we have said in our press conference, we must be a City that does not depend on service providers to collect waste, we will collect waste and create sustainable jobs.
“We have already purchased 12 trucks, of which two were delivered at the beginning of the month, two will be delivered next week and eight will be delivered in July.
Parks are the lifeblood of our community spaces and play a vital role in the health and the well-being of our people.
“We will clean and beautify all entrances of townships and informal settlements as part of upgrading them. This will restore the dignity of our people, they too deserve clean and beautified entrances to their places as well as cutting of grass in open fields. We have allocated R77.6 million.” he added.
Dunga said the City of Ekurhuleni is planning to acquire independent electricity suppliers and reduce its reliance on Eskom.
“The MMC of Water, Sanitation, and Energy should immediately start the process of developing an Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) for the City of Ekurhuleni, which must demonstrate how we should stabilize the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in the City.
“Our IRP is long overdue because of a changing energy situation in the country and because of an increasingly evident failure of Provincial and National governments to provide electricity to all our people.
“The City of Ekurhuleni’s energy plan should fearlessly present ideas and a concrete plan on how we should use clean coal technologies, nuclear, liquified natural gas, platinum group metals and minerals, the sun, water, wind, and hydrogen as sources of Electricity.”
He said if the City produce electricity that is more than its needs, that will be a potential source of revenue because they will sell electricity to other areas and did not rule out the acquisition of electricity from neighbouring countries.
“Ekurhuleni’s IRP will not be contained within the borders of Ekurhuleni and South Africa only. If there is dependable electricity that can come from Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, or any of our neighbouring countries, we will work through the Southern Africa Power Pool process to source electricity for our people.
“We take this opportunity to demand that the National Treasury and all the relevant Departments and Ministries establish a Comprehensive Conditional Grant which will assist Municipalities with hybrid and off-grid solutions because there is evidently no solution that will come from the national government.”
