10 Feb 2020

 Kgalagadi District Council (KDC) secretary, Ms Baipelelang Photlokwe, has called for investment on high impact infrastructural development projects through constituency funding.

Ms Photlokwe was speaking during the council’s budget presentation on February 7. 

She said the council serviced the largest district by size with sparse localities that posed serious challenges. 

She said there was need for prudent use of finances, hence the need for high impact projects to create employment opportunities.

When delivering the budget, finance committee chairperson, Mr Kemmonye Makatane, stated that the council had proposed a budget of P313 279 million but was allocated P228 655 million for 2020/2021 financial year. 

He said when compared to the 2019/2020, the budget had increased by nine per cent which was due to salary adjustments and allowances.

Councilor Makatane further noted that part of the approved recurrent budget included the P4 millio,n which came from council revenue streams while the government revenue support grant constituted P224 million. 

The budget covered KDC headquarters, Tsabong and Hukuntsi sub-district councils.

He highlighted that more needed to be done to increase revenue streams since the budget reflected that no significant improvement was registered on the existing ones to reduce government support grant. 

However, he said, plans were underway to invest in bus rank plots owned by the council, landfill and dumping sites where prospective developers could invest in the recycling of waste. 

Furthermore, large open spaces should be developed for recreational parks in major villages in partnership with the private sector.

Due to budgetary constraints, the council would not be able to maintain primary schools and other facilities. 

Further, there was no provision for maintenance of roads hence the need to find investment opportunities to finance them.

Weighing in, Ms Photlokwe buttressed that there was no development budget for the council for financial year 2020/2021 hence the need to partner with business community to device ways of pushing development agenda in the district. 

She said some of the district projects could materialise if constituency funds were used effectively.

“Constituencies must consider to collectively use their allocated finances for high impact projects rather individual constituencies doing small projects which do not have much impact,” she said.

The money, she said was meant to be used to close gaps in developments but most constituencies have used them for small projects in the past which did not have much value. 

Thus, she said constituencies must consider coming together to finance high impact projects for the district.

For his part Kgalagadi District Council chairperson, Mr Hendrick Jacobs said the district was grappling with water shortage and poor education results hence “these must be addressed as top priority if funds permit.”

 For the past four years, he said, the economy experienced a less favorable fiscal position which required all to ensure efficient spending in order to return to a sustainable fiscal pathway which included re-prioritisation of approved projects and programmes to align it with the transformation agenda.

He said the 2020/2021 proposed budget should respond to the need to transform the economy to a high income economy. 

Thus, he said government had identified four priority areas with emerging critical issues for the remaining period of National Development Plan 11. 

These he said, included promotion of export led economic growth, building of human resource capital, provision of appropriate infrastructure as well as ensure more efficient government spending and financing.

In an interview with BOPA, Gakhibane councilor, Mr Tirelo Pule said the budget was predominately focused on operational costs rather than development. 

This he said would not yield much development in the district. 

Thus he said there was need to fast track projects that could generate income such as building of the small stock abattoir.

Omaweneno/Kisa/Maralaleng Councilor Ronald Baitsewe noted that projections on the budget reflected that it was clear that the government had budget deficit and therefore some of the development projects could not be executed.

 He also emphasised that council should focus on coming up with revenue streams to finance infrastructural developments.

Mr Baitsewe added that it was critical to explore international markets as Kgalagadi district was endowed with natural resources such as the flora and fauna, indigenous knowledge which could increase revenue for the district. Ends