16 Feb 2020

Jwaneng town council has been advised to improve its financial management by being prudent and efficient in executing its budget.

The advice was rendered by the finance committee chairperson, Mr Oduetse Rabanna when presenting the council’s budget for the financial year 2020/2021 during the council’s special full council on Friday.

Mr Rabanna further advised for exploration of other avenues of increasing the council’s revenue source to enable it to carry out its mandate as the budget for the coming financial year was tight.

When presenting the budget, Mr Rabanna indicated that the council had been allocated about P104 700 million against the proposed budget of P138 million, a reduction that he indicated presented a challenge to the council’s plans.

He said that one of the challenges the council faced was incorporating emerging financial requirements such as transfer values for officers’ pensions, and that they prioritised on issues such as maintenance of buildings, running contracts with different service providers, maintenance of plants and vehicles and provision of utility bills, among others.

He also indicated that the bulk of the budget had been consumed by personnel emoluments, which accounted for 71 per cent of the total, with 13 per cent reserved for running costs while establishment expenses took seven per cent.

The remaining nine per cent was allocated to special expenses.

Mr Rabanna informed the councillors that the town council’s major source of income was its property rates, which accounted for 65 per cent of the income budget.

For her part, Jwaneng township mayor, Ms Olga Ditsie also stressed the need for being prudent with funds, and that the council should strive to deliver services to its clients despite the tight budget.

Ms Ditsie indicated that the issue of small budget against high demands was a challenge across all the councils in the country, and therefore all the stakeholders had to do whatever they could to ensure that they planned around what was available.

Commenting on the budget, Jwaneng Chamber of Commerce chairperson, Mr Julius Sebako encouraged the council to embrace Public Private Partnerships to relieve government of the financial burden.

He said that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi had indicated many times that his government desired to embrace a private sector-driven economy, with government only facilitating the process.

She suggested that Jwaneng council should also engage the local business community for the same purpose.

Councillors also urged the council to utilise its other properties such as community halls, stadium and intensify rates collections to increase its revenue base. ENDS