Johannesburg — The City of Johannesburg has allocated a R83.1 billion budget for the 2024-2025 financial year, with a focus on fixing key issues plaguing the province.
City of Johannesburg MMC for Finance, Dada Morero, revealed that the budget has increased marginally from the R80,9 billion allocation last year. The primary focus for this year was to improve infrastructure development, accelerate the delivery of essential services, and tackle energy and crime challenges, SABC News reported.
“Today marks yet another milestone in our commitment to serving the people of Johannesburg by presenting a budget of R83.1 billion which includes a capital budget of R7.4 billion.” Morero said,
“Our commitment to infrastructure investments to address our current deficiencies and provide new capacity for growth is anchored by our 3-year capital budget of R23 billion in this budget. Through this budget, we are leaving no one behind, including people with disabilities,” he added.
Johannesburg residents will have to pay more for services after finance MMC Dada Morero presented the city’s budget earlier today. Morero announced a new R83.1bn budget for the metro which increased from the previous financial year’s R80.9bn.
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According to The Citizen, Morero said the budget reflected the efforts to build a resilient city that was financially sustainable. It aimed to put residents at the centre of development and infrastructure has come under severe strain.
The city’s current financial crisis left much to be desired and affected its ability to render basic services to residents. It has also faced trouble with lack of basic service delivery and maintenance infrastructure, violent crime, water and power supply, and revenue collection shortfalls, among other troubles.
Among the other budget allocations include R18.3 billion to support its programmes, an additional R4.5 billion capital budget, and a crime prevention, bylaw enforcement and road-traffic management with a budget allocation of R6.1 billion.
R1.2 billion in operational expenditure was allocated by the human settlements department, with R3.4 billion allocated to housing opportunities.
Morero said certain hikes will include electricity – up by 12.7%; water – up by 7.7%; and rates – up 3.8%.
MMC for Finance, Cllr Dada Morero calls for residents and business to prioritize paying for municipal services.@CityofJoburgZA@CityPowerJhb @JHBWater@CleanerJoburg
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
