New BALA President Wants Enterprising Councils
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday March 16, 2020 16:39
He said councils are capable of making money if they could ensure that those who owe them do pay.
“It is time we make sure that we collect money owed for service levy and rates. I know councils are owed millions by different people. Our biggest challenge as the local government is that people want services from us and council budgets are not enough. We need to hold kgotla meetings and write to those who owe us to come and pay,” Sibisibi said.
“Let us also use empty spaces that we have to make parks that could generate money and even our parking lots. Let’s collect money also owed by some people for the Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA). Councils need this money to keep on assisting others.”
On other matters, Sibisibi asked some council secretaries to curb corruption in local governments and take action against officers who get involved in corrupt practices.
When addressing the attendants at BALA conference, Finance Minister, Thapelo Matsheka said currently the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act is being implemented to fight corruption, particularly within the legislature and amongst accounting officers.
“This would improve monitoring, transparency and accountability mechanisms to ensure expenditure efficiency,” he said.
He also asked councils to restrict the growth of the recurrent expenditure with a view to creating fiscal space for productive investment by maintaining more development-oriented spending in line with the 70:30 rule of the ratio of recurrent development expenditure.
Matsheka said they should move from incremental budgeting to zero-based budgeting in the medium term.
“Wasteful spending will not be tolerated,” Matsheka said.
Amongst the specific expenditure control measures for 2020-2021, Matsheka said the Ministry will be working with select pilot ministries to deal with wastage, focusing on ‘other charges’ item of the budget.
To improve the country’s fiscal position, government seeks to identify alternative sources of revenue, which amongst others include strengthening collection of existing taxes, and adjusting some fees and levies, where necessary.
On the expenditure side, all government structures need to allocate limited resources efficiently, by prioritising projects with higher returns and those that have up and downstream value addition.
On the revenue side, as part of the efforts to address the budget deficit, all fees, charges and levies will be adjusted with effect from April 1, 2020, and thereafter on an annual basis.
“Measures will also be put in place to implement the cost recovery policy, including collection of tertiary students’ loan repayments.”
In terms of combating wasteful spending, emphasis will be on creating space for the private sector and regrouping entities/sectors such in the provision of infrastructure under one supervisory authority, the minister said.
To facilitate combating crime, “my ministry has ensured that adequate finances within the security services (especially Police) are provided for, starting with the 2020-2021 financial year”.
He said, the “digital economy and the 4th industrial revolution are now a given phenomenon human capital development and provision of ITC have been identified as critical and thus prioritised during the second half of NDP 11 implementation”.