GOOD Statement by Sarah Mabotsa
GOOD City of Tshwane Councillor and MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning
The GOOD party is pleased to be able to support the mid-year budget and performance adjustments for the City of Tshwane in today’s Council.
As we know, the City received a qualified audit for the mid 2023 to mid 2024 period and amongst the concerns of the Auditor General was the financial status of the city.
For many years, the City’s own budget was unfunded – meaning it was spending more than it was earning.
The City must learn to do more with less and this means reducing spending and increasing revenue collection to ensure that services can be provided affordably and sustainable to all of Tshwane’s residents.
When the new multi-party administration, of which GOOD is part, was elected to office in October 2024, improving the financial status of the City of Tshwane and working towards a fully funded budget was a key priority of our new administration.
Increasing revenue and reducing spending to stabilise the financial status of the City of Tshwane are key objectives.
We are happy to see that in the budget adjustment tabled for Council today, employee costs have been reduced by 3%, achieving a saving of R346 million for our residents.
At the same time, operating costs have also been decreased, achieving a saving of more than R115 million.
The City has also been able to save even more through the agreement with Eskom.
No interest is going to be charged on our outstanding multimillion Rand debt that we inherited, provided we continue with our agreed payment plan to Eskom.
These savings are also reflected in the adjustment budget.
In the Department of Economic Development and Spatial Planning, for which I am responsible, we have been able to increase revenue from valuations, rezonings, new developments and category changes.
At the same time, overall expenditure was reduced, achieving an overall saving of R62,329 525.
The revenue increases and expenditure savings were achieved through several actions, including:
-Increased revenue licences and permits by R800,000
-Increased rentals by R275,000 and fines and penalties by almost R50,000,
-Reducing employee costs by more than R43 million
-Reducing operational costs by almost R5 million.
We are also however investing in growth.
Through these savings, we were able to accommodate an increased allocation of R10 million to TEDA, which is the agency responsible for assisting us to drive economic growth and investment.
TEDA has been assisting with the drafting of Tshwane’s Economic Revitalisation Strategy and in bringing potential new investment partners to the City.
The historic poor financial status of the City of Tshwane has been a longstanding concern of the Auditor General of South Africa and of our residents.
I am therefore very pleased and supportive of the amendment to increase the target of the liquidity ratio for the City of Tshwane.
In 2023/24, debt to equity stood at more than 85%. However, this has been reduced to less than 65% in January 2025.
The proposed change to increase the target on the ratio of assets to liabilities is a very positive sign that the City is beginning to stabilise its financial position.
GOOD is proud to be a part of the financial stabilisation of the City of Tshwane and pleased that the department I am responsible for has been able to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, resulting in overall savings for the City and residents of Tshwane.