FCC approves recurrent budget
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday March 16, 2016 15:11
Presentint the 2016/17 budget, chairperson of the finance committee, James Kgalajwe, said the approved revenue support grant final ceiling was P148.3. The council’s own source was P35.6 million.
Kgalajwe said the council’s sources of income were rates, service levy, interest on deposit, staff housing rent, lease rentals and trade licenses. He said the council was faced with the challenge of increasing its source of income to sustain itself.
“I now implore you to collectively come up with new ways of improving our income,” he said. “This income is aimed at addressing most concerns of the Francistown community.”
Kgalajwe said the council resolved to revise by-law rates after realising that the rates for Francistown were high as compared to other urban councils. He added that his committee considered the fact that most of their defaulters were low-income earners.
He said that the council performed well in collecting debts this year because of the strategies it used, resulting in P32.6 million worth of debts collected compared to P20.5 million during the previous financial year. Despite the success, the council will continue to improve its debt collection strategies.
Kgalajwe said the council continued to experience a challenge of high utility bills, especially water at primary schools. However, the council engaged plumbers to fix the leaks. The council also wanted to replace pit latrines with water-borne toilets.
He said salaries take P6.5 million per month. He called on council departments to obey financial instructions and ensure wise use of money, especially on tenders. He warned that failure to obey financial instructions could create opportunities for corruption.