Crisis averted as Joburg passes budget
The City of Johannesburg finally managed to pass its 2020/21 budget during an extraordinary council sitting on Thursday.
The Johannesburg council met its deadline to pass the city’s budget before the end of the week, narrowly evading chances of it being dissolved by the provincial government.
The new budget will set aside R200 million for the procurement of fire engines amid concerns over longstanding shortages across the city.
City residents can also breathe a sigh of relief at the reduction of some of the proposed tariff increases.
“Following public concerns and suggestions expressed by Johannesburg residents to the proposed tariffs, the city has taken a decision to withdraw the proposed fixed charges of R200 for residential and R400 for commercial pre-paid electricity,” the city said in a statement.
“The property rates tariff will also be reduced from the proposed 4.9% to 4%, the water tariff will also drop from the initial proposal of 8.6% to 6.6%, and the electricity tariff goes down from 8.10% to 6.23%.”
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South Africa's population nears 60 million
This means the country's population has shot up by almost two million over the past two years. Stats SA made the report public in Pretoria on Thursday morning. Gauteng remains the most populous province, with approximately 15,5 million of the country's residents living in the economic hub.
The budget will also look to formalise informal settlements.
“A total of R1.2 billion has been allocated for the formalisation of informal settlements over the medium term,” the statement continued.
“It also placed housing and the continuation of water, electricity, and road infrastructure development at the top of its considerations - alongside basic service delivery.”