Can Newcastillians look forward to positive developments within their local community in the coming year? This follows the recent approval of the Newcastle Municipality’s Final Medium Budget for 2024/2025.
With the approval of the Municipal budget, it should be noted that the final budget is a consolidated operational and capital budget of just under R3 billion.
This budget has been developed with an overall planning framework. It includes programmes and projects designed to achieve the minimum strategic objectives of the Newcastle Municipality as outlined in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
According to the Newcastle Municipality’s 2024/2025 Final Budget, this budget has been set against the backdrop of current slow economic growth, escalating debtors, and historical commitments on loans and creditors. At the same time, it considered the burden on consumers through rates and services.
“Economic challenges continue to put pressure on municipal generation and its ability to collect revenue in the 2024/2025 financial year, hence a very conservative approach was adopted when projecting revenue and receipts based on the current payment factors. It is, however, hoped that with Budget Funding Plan (BF) strategies to enhance revenues, the payment factor will start to show a positive trend during the budget year,” read the Final Budget statement.
Despite facing these challenges, the Newcastle Municipality stressed its mandate and responsibility to sustain service delivery through the budget by reprioritising expenditure to ensure key objectives are achieved. Moreover, the Final Budget 2024/2025 statement highlighted that provisions in this budget continue to support the government’s commitment to broadening service delivery and expanding investment in infrastructure, especially through capital budgets, while considering the limited fiscal environment in which the budget was prepared.
Looking ahead to the 2024/2025 financial year, the Newcastle Municipality’s operating budget, which funds the continued provision of services provided by the municipality, is projected to increase from the adjusted budget of R2.8 billion in 2023/2024 to R2.9 billion in 2024/2025. This represents an increase of R117 million.
The bulk of the operational budget is consumed by the fixed costs of the municipality, which are funded through Provincial and National grants. This includes employee costs, SALGA membership fees, bulk water, and bulk electricity purchases.
The Newcastle Municipality’s capital budget is projected to be R173.4 million, consisting of R162.3 million funded from government grants and R11.1 million from internally generated funds. This, according to the Final Budget Documentation, aligns with the strategies of the Budget Funding Plan.
Moreover, Government grants continue to fund the bulk of capital programmes over the next three financial years, according to the Newcastle Municipality’s Final Medium Budget for 2024/2025, covering about 97% of the capital expenditure in the 2024/2025 financial year.
Therefore, the Newcastle Municipality will be spending the bulk of its capital programme towards basic infrastructure as follows:
- R56.1 million towards roads and stormwater drains.
- R52.2 million towards water infrastructure.
- R12 million towards sanitation infrastructure.
- R22.3 million towards electricity infrastructure.
- R18.9 million towards sports infrastructure.
- R2 million towards tools of trade and other community assets.
Additionally, the list of capital projects that Newcastle residents can expect to see implemented over the medium-term period includes the following:
- Viljoenpark Bulk Water and Sanitation: R13 million
- Construction of 11kv switching station – Capricorn: R7.7 million for the 2024/2025 final budget, R6 million for the 2025/2026 final budget, and R6.5 million for the 2026/2027 final budget.
- Construction of 132/11 kv station – Equarand: R14,644,000 for the 2024/2025 final budget, R12 million for the 2025/2026 final budget, and R12 million for the 2026/2027 final budget.
- High Voltage Test Equipment: R1.3 million
- Pipe replacement and upgrade project: R30,487,876
- Upgrade and refurbishment of bulk sewer pipeline from Siyahlahla: R11 million for the 2024/2025 final budget, and R28,837,541 for the 2025/2026 final budget.
- Upgrade of the Madadeni Waste Water Treatment Plant: R1 million
- Blaauwbosch Bulk Water: R8,703,374
- Construction and rehabilitation of JR2 Road: R10 million
- Construction of a sports facility: R8,964,576 for the 2024/2025 final budget, while R10,558,042 has been earmarked for the 2025/2026 final budget.
To view the full Newcastle Municipality’s final budget for 2024/2025, click here.
While the above are just some of the capital projects earmarked by the Newcastle Municipality to improve service delivery, the question now stands: what are your thoughts on the above?
Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 5
If regular maintenance is done on infrastructures there would be no need to have a huge sum to spend at one go. Furthermore, all costs on repairs should be transparent and quotes to be done by forums that represent the community of Newcastle.
In my humble opinion the budget is not worth the paper it is written on. The depreciation of the infrastructure and equipment and debt impairment runs into hundreds of millions of Rands as shown in the budget but is not cash backed. This is the same as planning to buy a brand new Rolls-Royce knowing full well you have not got the money to pay for it. This is known as pie in the sky and wishfull thinking. All the projects only total R173 million of which R162 is from grants. This on an over R 2 Billion budget but we still have sewage running in some streets and a large number of street lights not working and potholes all over town.
Most of these projects are dependent on grant funding which comes with stringent conditions.
Maybe in your future articles separate grant funded projects from internal funded projects Most importantly inform the public that this is an unfunded budget and indicate the shortfall has there are contradictory amounts. This budget would be rejected by National and Provincial Treasury as it is unfunded and they would request a review which effectively means that these projects may not materialise. This budget is not book entries and far from reality
I see this big budget madadeni, blaauwbosch is included but Osizweni no development completely neglected and forgotten… WHY? Mara WHY? our votes are meaning less for sure.
I really wish that this huge amount shown and calculated can be used in a meaningful way, according to my opinion the priority should be given to roads, our roads are a disaster I can’t even say it’s pothole they like a bath basin where you can bath an infant honestly, in other arrears it’s even hard to avoid this holes because they are all-over, our cars are damaged by these roads and the water issue AYISAHLEKISI (not a laughing matter any more).Lastly how will I forget the issue of hiking rates My God this is really too much paying so much while residing in Madadeni there’s no difference now between us in the location and people in towns, we decided to stay in locations because we couldn’t afford town but it looks like town has haunted us with these ridiculous rates.