Unpacking a budget of R21-billion, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo said specific projects focusing on roads, power, water and housing, among other issues, would go a long way towards tackling the City's critical infrastructure backlogs.

IT'S another record-breaking budget for Johannesburg. Executive Mayor Amos Masondo has presented the City's 2006-07 budget of R21-billion: a capital budget of R3,2-billion and an operating budget of R17,8-billion.

This is more than R2-billion up on last year's budget, which at the time was a record-breaking R18,9-billion. The mayor delivered his medium term budget and unveiled the City's first Growth and Development Strategy and Johannesburg's five-year Integrated Development Plan (IDP) on Wednesday, 24 May.

"We are of the view that the City of Johannesburg's record of good governance, service delivery and development in the 2000 to 2006 term of office is very positive indeed," he said.

He said stakeholders commended the City on its consultation process for its Growth and Development Summit, adding that comments would be carefully considered and where appropriate, included in updated versions of both the Growth and Development Strategy and five-year IDP. "The IDP is not only informed by our long-term view in the Growth and Development Strategy, but is also underpinned by a new set of six mayoral priorities," he explained.

Executive mayor Amos Masondo delivers the 2006-7 budget in the council
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

Announcing his budget, Masondo also spoke of the opportunities and challenges facing the city. Besides growing the economy and creating jobs, the challenges included eradicating social inequalities; tackling poverty; service delivery; dealing with urbanisation and migration; fighting HIV and Aids; urban renewal and regeneration; and upgrading technology. The mayor also identified opportunities, saying, "These major opportunities, among others, need to be grasped and harnessed by our City in the interest of our long-term development."

These included:

• The Gautrain: "The injection of over R20-billion over the next five years will have a major positive impact on transport, spatial and economic influence on the City of Johannesburg and surrounding areas."
• The Gauteng global city region initiative: "This idea seeks to ensure greater collaboration between the provincial government and the various municipalities. This will enhance transport provision, service delivery and infrastructure development. It will also ensure greater co-operation, alignment and integration."
• The national goal to achieve a growth rate of 6 percent by 2010: "The present economic growth coupled with the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (Asgisa) provides us with the platform to strive for even greater levels of growth. It affords us an opportunity to involve greater numbers of people to build the economy and share in its benefits."
• The 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup: "As a City that will be hosting some of the major soccer matches, we have to speed up our efforts to improve transport, identify possible legacy projects and extend infrastructure."
  

The City gets its revenue from electricity (24,8 percent); water (20,7 percent); property rates (20,7 percent); refuse removal (3 percent); fines and licence fees (1,4 percent); and operating and capital grants (20 percent), with minor tariff charges making up the balance.

Celebrations in the council chambers after the announcement of the City's record R21-billion budget
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

"The City anticipates raising revenue of R17,9-billion for 2006-7, R19-billion for 2007-8 and R19,9-billion for 2008-9," Masondo said.

It is expected that the City will have operating surpluses of R124,8-million for 2006-7, R209-million for 2007-8 and R293,5-million for the 2008-9 financial year. The operating surpluses will be applied to address capital infrastructure backlogs.

Highlights of the 2006-07 budget

The mayor spoke of highlights of the budget, saying that these particular projects, totalling some R3-billion "will go a long way to addressing the City's critical infrastructure backlogs".

Some identified projects are:

• Johannesburg Roads Agency will receive R284-million for tarring gravel roads in Diepsloot, Orange Farm and Ivory Park; R40-million to upgrade Koma Road in Soweto; and R50-million to improve mobility in the city;
• Transport will receive R86-million for the development of the North-South Strategic Public Transport Network Flagship Project, from Regina Mundi to Parktown; R42-million for the Baragwanath taxi rank; and R38-million for the N17 access to Soweto;
• R259-million will be allocated to Johannesburg Water to continue the roll out of Operation Gcina'manzi, the City's innovative and extensive process of replacing the degraded water network. It is envisaged that 58 034 meters will be installed between July and December 2006, resulting in 6,4 million kilolitres of water conserved, amounting to R17,9-million;
• Among other projects, City Power will spend about R100-million on refurbishing substations, which will have a major effect on rehabilitation of the network, thereby reducing electricity outages;
• The Johannesburg Development Agency will receive a total of R168-million to support the regeneration of Randburg, the Fashion District, Soweto Empowerment Zone, Constitution Hill, Greater Kliptown and Newtown;
• Programme Phakama, aimed at the creation of a single customer value chain and a single revenue value chain across the City, including the municipal entities, will receive an allocation of R228-million;
• About R500-million will be spent by the City on projects relating to the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, made up of upgrading water, electricity, sporting and transportation infrastructure and the upgrading of the Ellis Park and Nasrec precincts; and
• Housing, including social housing, will receive a total capital allocation of R128-million for the provision of essential services across the city from Kliptown to Orange Farm Ext 9.

The budget has also made provision for the appointment of 500 additional metro police officers a year over the next three years; 25 additional healthcare workers who will help with the expansion of the City's HIV and Aids programme as well as improving access to primary health care; and the appointment of 10 additional environmental health officers who will assist in the reduction of pollution, promote food safety and ensure vector control.

Additional fire fighters and emergency response team staff will also be appointed.