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Yesterday, through Council, the Johannesburg Multi-Party Government passed its Adjustment Budget, which will see the City through to the end of the 2021/22 financial year, ending in June.

I would, therefore, like to thank all City officials involved in the technical and strategic process that got us to this point, as well as our Multi-Party Government coalition partners for their support.

The Adjustment Budget is in many ways a prudent and necessary response to a loan market that is increasingly averse to lending money to municipalities, including metros. This can be further attributed to a lack of liquidity in the market.

The broader financial picture faced by local governments across the country is that capital expenditure has largely been funded by cash and grants, with funding from loans being absent.

The fact that there has been a deterioration in revenue collection, means that we have had to arrest the decrease in our surplus in order to maintain our financial standing so that we can invest in the future through a properly funded infrastructure expenditure programme.

Despite the need to rebase our budget, we are nonetheless pleased to announce that we will be able to deliver on 90% of the commitments made on 11 January, in our Golden Start - the Multi-Party Government’s priorities for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year.

It does however mean that certain projects that were in the original 2021/22 inherited budget will not be achieved, which is regrettable. It is not because there is not a will to complete these projects, but rather that the former political administration did not properly manage the process to get the projects shovel ready in time. 

The truth is that even if we wanted to take money out of the City’s bank account, which we could do in the absence of being able to raise money through further loans, it would be practically impossible to spend the money on these projects.

These projects will nevertheless be completed by the Multi-Party Government in the next financial year and beyond.

Despite the above decisions we have had to make, we are proud to state that we have increased spending on programmes designed to benefit the poor,, like the completion of clinics, the funding of housing projects and improved transport projects.

Some of the increases to the adjustment budget include:

• l  R53,3-million in increases for Rea Vaya BRT-related projects
• l  R5,7-million in increases for the completion of the Orlando East to UJ Soweto bus route
• l  R49-million in increases for public transport facilities in Orange Farm
• l  R136,5-million in increase for City Power infrastructure projects
• l  R183,3-miilion in increases for bulk water infrastructure projects
• l  R296,5-million increases for JRA infrastructure projects
• l  R2,5-million in increases for Joburg Zoo & Parks programmes
• l  R37,5-million in increases for the completion of clinics in Alexandra an Orchards
• l  R93,9-million in increases for key housing projects across the City 

We make no apologies for wanting to get the basics right as we lay down a solid foundation on which we will build a City of opportunities. 

Issued by Office of the MMC for Finance