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May 2016
the
City’s
budget
Infrastructure & Mixed Use
D
e Lille says these figures are
well below the necessary 8%
of annual growth needed to
generate employment andwell below
the official targets of the National
Development Plan (NDP). The BER
has forecast the Consumer Price In-
dex (CPI) to be above the 6% upper
inflation target range for the next
two years. With the decline of the
rand against the US$ over the past
three years, business confidence in
South Africa’s national government
has dipped.
This economic picture has a direct
bearing on thewaymunicipalities are
funded in terms of grants received
from the national budget.
For instance, says de Lille, Treasury
expects municipalities to spend at
least 40% renewing infrastructure
from their capital budget, Cape Town
currently spends 48% on infrastruc-
ture projects.
Treasury suggests that municipali-
ties implement austerity measures,
which includes cutting costs such as
catering, entertainment, public func-
tions and travel. This is something
Cape Town initiated years ago.
De Lille is proud of the fact that the
city provides generous allowances
to the poor, more than Treasury’s
recommendations. “This forms part
of the city’s social obligation,” she
says, “We ensure the funding of the
programmes in the Integrated De-
velopment Plan (IDP) are in line with
taxation targets. In the past two years,
we changed our planning method-
ology, by introducing an effective
Project Portfolio Management (PPM)
system. This year we added a screen-
ing criteria for budget submissions on
new projects.”
De Lille continues, “Spatial plan-
ning measures encourages Transit-
Oriented Development (TOD) and
Integrated Human Settlements in
line with the city’s Built Environ-
ment Performance Plan (BEPP). This
includes the provision of basic service
infrastructure and integrated invest-
ment programmes, and how budget
proposals enables economic growth
and contribute to identify catalytic
projects. These submissions led to
the careful consideration of depart-
mental inputs against a broader
strategy framework, providing crite-
ria to inform decision-making.” The
proposed rates and tariff structures:
• Rates have been reduced by 6% –
this is down from 10% last year
• Refuse removal costs have come
down to 7,92% – compared with
8,33% in the previous year
• Sanitation costs have been cut to
9,75% from 11% last year
• Water services have also been cut
to 9,75% from 11% last year
• Electricity costs on average of
7,78%, (6,6% for domestic supply)
compared to 10,82% last year
Additional projects include:
• Road Congestion Relief Pro-
gramme
• Park facility upgrades
• Cemetery development
• Development of the Hanover Park
Aqua Centre
• CCTV infrastructure network
• Firearms for safety and security
services
• Project EPIC
• Acquisition of new fire engines
The City of Cape Town Executive Mayor, Patricia
de Li l le says that are currently sitting at a
growth rate of around 1% per annum, while the
Bureau of Economic Research (BER) projects an
average of 1,6% average growth over three years.