Inadequate budget strains Phikwe council
Onalenna Kelebeile | Wednesday February 12, 2014 19:46
The council has been allocated P83million by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, for its Revenue Support Grant, which was an increase of P12 million from the initial P71 million.
The P12 million increment came after councillors adopted an extremely tight 2014/2015 budget.
Now, some councillors have suggested that a delegation be dispatched to the relevant ministry to request for additional funding. They feel that if additional funding is not sought, the council will collapse. The councillors argued that supplementary budget was enshrined in the law.
When discussing the budget during a special council meeting on Friday, councillor Mogae Ketshogile said the local authority was in a bad financial state this financial year.
He added that councils did not have a say in the Revenue Support Grant and that they should by now have started their own investment strategies in order to help diversify their economies.
He enquired whether councils were allowed to invest their money in foreign countries to accumulate interest rather than only investing locally and generating interest from government.
He added that investing in shares seems the viable solution to councils’ economic situations. “Can’t we invest in BCL mine as SPTC through advice from our financial experts with the hope of benefiting from mineral price escalation?
“BCL is currently viable and investing in it would increase council’s own revenue sources,” he asked.
In response council’s Acting Principal Accountant Alfred Mqhuzula said council’s funds are too small to invest and said investment is controlled by Bank of Botswana.
He added that it is impossible for the local authority to invest outside the country. The chairman of the Finance Committee Lekang Mukokomani who tabled the budget said a cut in the council ceiling puts serious pressure on the services that the council has to offer the community.
He said the situation is worsened by the fact that even the previous budget was far below expectation. He added that an allocation of P69 million to staff salaries and only P15 million to run and provide essential services means that they would fail to address the problems they had since the last financial year.
He cited challenges of utility bills and maintenance of grounds and buildings.
Mukokomani added that the term of office for councillors elapses this year and the fact that their terminal benefits, amounting to P2 million, have not been budgeted for, further compounds to council’s financial woes.
“Our abattoir is up for outsourcing and employees may be seconded or lose their jobs. We should anticipate further expenses on terminal benefits which are not budgeted for,” he added.
He said the situation has forced council to cancel overtime across council departments except for a few.
Councillor Odirile Kelebetse, who recalled how council had a serious problem when it had to pay the terminal benefits to workers who were converted to permanent and pensionable, echoed Mukokomani’s sentiments. “There was no budget provision and the council had to struggle to pay those workers,” said Kelebetse.
Councillor Dorcus Letlhogela said challenges kept growing while income sources dried up and said this is a wake up call for the local authority to learn to use the little it has and survive through it.
She advised council to aggressively implement the adopted privatisation master plan to boost its revenue collection strategies. She further warned that government property is usually used carelessly without proper monitoring.
Councillor Evelyn Kgodungwe urged council to speed up its privatisation exercise because the local authority cannot be seen to be failing to maintain the abattoir.
She also suggested that council close down its pre-school in Botshabelo because it did not meet the requirements.
“It is currently running on a conditional licence. We have to set a good example to be able to control other pre-schools.
“What is currently happening is a sign that government wants to get rid of councils. Let us send a delegation to Gaborone to seek additional funding and also consult members of the community about our economic dilemma,” she added.
She also regretted that even compactor trucks were not budgeted for yet the town has a serious problem of waste collection and disposal.