18 Feb 2020

Boteti Sub-district has been operating with a budget deficit for the past five years which currently stands at P24 million.

Sub-council chairman  Mr Molemi Galeragwe told a session held in Letlhakane on Monday that judging by the deficit situation prevailing at national level, the state of affairs would not change any time soon.

He lamented that revenue support grant had continued to  diminish over the years.

Mr Galeragwe said the  2020/21 budget had been downsized from P177 192 390 to P118 920 690 which was sufficient for paying salaries and providing social services only.

The chairman said the income streams at the council’s disposal showed minimal inflows.

Mr Galeragwe stated that  the budget for the 2019/20 financial year was P5 705 030 whereas only P3 016 506.62 had been collected.

He said the sub-district had a total of 7 648 beneficiaries of social safety nets.

Mr Galeragwe said food rations were provided to the clients through coupon system in all villages except at Xere where they were supplied by the local multi cooperative and tendering system for fresh produce.

He revealed that the sub-district had been experiencing a challenge with smart switch cards and was using paper coupons to ensure  beneficiaries were serviced on time.

Mr Galeragwe noted that since the beginning of the financial year, the district had experienced an increase in clients registering for safety nets, an indication that communities were going deep into poverty.

He said 512 needy vocational school students were being assisted with monthly living allowances of P1 100 per student which translated into P576 815.68 per month.

Mr Galeragwe said though investing in students would go a long way in securing the young generation’s future, it was digging deep into council coffers and exacerbating the deficit that already existed.

Mr Galeragwe said it was therefore crucial for council to come up with robust income generating strategies that would ensure sustainability.

On another issue, he said the  sub-district had awarded 122 tenders valued at P40 612 172.39 in the current financial year out of which P21 911 902.86’s worth had gone to  Boteti contractors.

Mr Galeragwe said all recurrent budget tenders for next financial year were already floating with the intention of commencing procurement in April.

He urged councillors to encourage bidders within their communities to regularly seek guidance on tendering requirements and processes from government offices in an endeavour to capacitate them. ENDs