20 Sep 2016

The mayor of Gaborone, Mr Kagiso Thutlwe says finances are an important requirement that any organisation should periodically evaluate and assess its processes.
Presenting on the financial position of Gaborone City Council during a full council session for the 2016-17 financial year, Mr Thutlwe said  the overall expenditure as at August 2016 stood at P89 million which translates into 25.3 per cent of the overall recurrent budget of  P350 million
He noted that moving towards the end of the second quarter, the expectation was that their expenditure should be in the region of 50 per cent. However, he stated that projected expenditure was estimated to have increased by more than P6 million by the end of October 2016.
He said the projection was based on some major tenders which have been awarded, and for which payments were anticipated.
Mayor Thutlwe, however, said the council has observed that some activities which have been budgeted for were not spending as expected.
He added that some have recorded high expenditures, and that there was an indication that funds would be depleted before the end of the financial year. He said one such expenditure was the water and electricity vote.
Mayor Thutlwe also said there was need to accelerate expenditure on the maintenance of council facilities and to deal with challenges such as water leakages in schools.
He stated that the council would embark on regular budget reviews in accordance with the budget manual for prudent resource allocation and utilisation.
He said some activities which were not urgent may need to be put on hold so as to focus on those deemed urgent.
He informed councillors that total revenue estimated to be collected, excluding rates, for the current financial year was about P35 million.
He said as at August 30, over P5 million was collected, adding that it translates to just 15.6 per cent of the total estimate against an expected collection of 41 per cent.
He added that they have recorded worrisome inactivity in some major income streams such as advertising signs, interest on investment, SHHA service levy, staff housing rentals and parking fees which have collected less than 20 per cent of the budget.
Mayor Thutlwe said rates alone account for more than 70 per cent of council revenue, saying the opening balance on outstanding rates was about P143 million at the start of the 2016/17 financial year.
He said the level of collection increased by 149 per cent from about P3 million to over P7 million in April 2016.
He said the increase in the payment of rates could be a result of immediate response by property owners to notification after billing.
Mayor Thutlwe said there were some customers who consistently settled their bills after receiving notifications.
He said such people were true partners in development and he urged them to continue with the good conduct.
He noted that the rates collected from the beginning of the financial year still remain as low as P26 million, representing 18.3 per cent of the opening balance at the beginning of the financial year.
He urged councillors and their electorates to introspect as they were approaching exciting times of commemorating 50 years of independence. He said they should  introspect and reflect on what could have been and on the successes and achievements of the nation, and on the challenges they faced and continue to face and on what they need to do as a nation going forward. ENDS