Kimberley residents must put pressure on their councillors to study and amend the draft budget currently before council, as the proposed electricity charges and increased tariffs “will shock”.
This is the opinion of Tumelo Mosikare, a community activist and project leader at the Sol Plaatje Ratepayers Union. According to him the Sol Plaatje Municipality proposes to charge residents a basic monthly fee of R65 and another capacity charge of R181.
“These new proposals are based on a cost of supply study that was done. Residents are mostly unaware of the implications of the proposals as only a few ward meetings were held where councillors and officials discussed the integrated development plan (IDP). What is more shocking is the absence of the IDP in the draft budget.
“The IDP, which is dependent on the budget, gives us a vision of the city’s developmental plans for the next five years. Very few residents or businesses were consulted.
“It is unbelievable that a municipality published the draft budget without an IDP. There is one page in the draft budget in which it is stated that the IDP will be included in the final budget. It is unacceptable, yet unsurprising.
“We have not seen or heard much of the mayor’s vision for the city since his inauguration, besides photos on social media where he is supporting the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and students who have applied for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds.
“We must act now before it is approved in its current form. With its implementation in July it will be too late to do anything about it.”
Mosikare has sent voice notes on social media groups about the proposals.
“People were shocked, and some councillors accused me of spreading lies. I have sent screen shots of the draft budget to those nonbelievers to prove what I am saying.
“The cost of supply study seems to be based on an assumption that the municipality will not address non-technical losses such as electricity theft or infrastructure problems. These losses amount to R100 million a year, but it is factored into the new fees. It is as if it is accepted and budgeted for, but will it be addressed? The municipality buys its units at R1,12 each from Eskom, but we will pay double that. This price hike cannot be approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.”
“At 44% of the income going to salaries, no wonder the municipality is in financial dire straits.”
Mosikare is however adamant that angry residents should not take to the streets with disruptive action.
“The solution lies in educating and informing ourselves and insisting that our councillors do their jobs and give us regular feedback. Councillors must insist that the directors follow due processes, devise a proper IDP and approve a budget without these unaffordable charges.”
He says the monthly reports and draft document is published on the Sol Plaatje website and hard copies should be available at the city’s libraries.
“If residents and councillors study the reports and the draft budget, they will be shocked at how money is mismanaged and redirected without any benefit to the city.”
