“This leads to serious cash flow problems since often times expenditure exceeds income. This means that we end up not being able to deliver on some of the activities that would have been planned. I wish to beseech the Finance and General Purpose Committee to formulate and implement strategies to increase the revenue base and accelerate the collection,” Abraham said. The Mayor pleaded with the Gaborone community to come forth and pay property rates and service levies. He said rates contribute about 25% of the recurrent budget and these funds if collected, can contribute significantly to the development of the city. He also requested the media to help disseminate information on the need to comply in terms of paying for public goods and services. On another matter, the Mayor said as of the end of May 2023, their total expenditure stood at P67,757,873.93, translating to 14.8% of the budget. The total collection stands at P77,432,118.92, which is 16.9% of the budget.
With that regard, he said they will continue monitoring expenditure and revenue collection through structures such as the Finance and General Purpose Committee. He, however, said they will focus on major components of the recurrent budget, such as property rates, advertising signs, ground leases and parking fees. On other issues, under the Second Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP), the Mayor said P7,875,000 has been approved to design the storm water master plan for Gaborone. He said the design review works shall assist the Gaborone residents in identifying flood-prone areas and coming up with mitigation measures to deal with storm water challenges. Meanwhile, on the issue of road maintenance, he said in the last financial year, funds amounting to P20,000,000 were approved through the development budget to augment their road maintenance budgets.
