KOUGA – At a Council meeting held on 27 May at the Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) Council Chambers, the Council approved the Municipality’s 2026/2027 budget, reflecting a firm commitment to socio-economic development, service delivery, support for local municipalities and mitigation of disasters.

Council has approved the Sarah Baartman District Municipality

During his address to Council, Executive Mayor Deon de Vos said that this budget is presented during uniquely difficult times as Sarah Baartman District Municipality finds itself engulfed by major climate-related incidents taking place a few months apart.

“In January this year, the district experienced devastating fires that affected four local municipalities, and this month (May) the district was hit by disruptive rains which caused havoc in our local municipalities, leaving certain communities inaccessible and without electricity almost 20 days after the incident,” said De Vos.

He further said that it is worth mentioning that the agricultural sector and its workforce have suffered a heavy blow.

De Vos said that SBDM management has engaged the Department of Transport and Eskom on this matter and progress is being made to repair the damage caused.

In a statement, the municipality said that an operational budget of R183 million and a capital budget of R5.4 million were adopted for the new financial year commencing on 1 July.

Furthermore, the statement indicates that the main sources of sustainable own discretionary revenue include the Equitable Share, which incorporates the Levy Replacement Grant and amounts to R80.6 million for the year.

Additional revenue sources include:

• R12 million in interest revenue,
• R100,000 from rental income,
• R5.2 million from conditional grants listed in DORA,
• R65 million in grants from sector departments,
• R3.5 million in management fees from the Provincial Department of Human Settlements.

The municipality said that the balance of the budget would be funded from the municipality’s accumulated surplus.

The statement highlights that the total project budget for 2026/2027 is R39.7 million, allocated across key development areas, including:

• R600,000 for the Office of the Speaker for community engagements and outreach programmes.
• R200,000 for the youth fund to address issues of youth unemployment.
• R800,000 to support two learners from the district who are currently studying in China at Hangzhou Normal University through SBDM’s partnership with China.
• R200,000 respectively for women’s empowerment, disability empowerment, and the implementation of the District’s HIV/AIDS plan.
• R1 million for the development of business plans for local municipalities in the district.
• R1.306 million from the EPWP grant for local projects in community services.
• R65 million from the Provincial Department of Human Settlements for the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme across local municipalities.
• R7.5 million for fire service contributions and R1 million for disaster risk assessments.
• R3 million to assist local municipalities with water services through WSA support.
• R2.732 million under the RRAMS Conditional Grant for the continuation of the Rural Roads Asset Management System project.
• R5.610 million to two local municipalities for delivering Environmental Health services on behalf of the District.
• R6.550 million for tourism marketing, promotion, and development, including support for creative industries.
• R600,000 for Local Economic Development initiatives, supporting SMMEs.
• R425,000 for Technical Town Planning initiatives.
• R2.3 million for Trade and Investment project development and packaging.
• R2 million for municipal audit support initiatives to local municipalities.
• R100,000 has been earmarked for job evaluation operations.

In his closing remarks, De Vos stated, “Through this budget we are making it clear that SBDM is committed to strengthening its local municipalities, supporting district economic growth and improving the quality of life of our communities. This budget reflects our determination to govern responsibly, utilise public resources prudently and deliver on the mandate entrusted to us by the people of Sarah Baartman District.”

ALSO READ: BREAKING NEWS | MK Party chief whip arrested on fraud and extortion charges