Help on its way for troubled municipalities, vows Mabuza
Updated | By Karabo Tebele
Deputy President David Mabuza says new legislation is on its way to help municipalities improve their finances and boost service delivery.
Mabuza answered questions in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.
He vowed that the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act, when signed into law, will provide a boost to struggling municipalities around the country.
“We are saying we are going to pass this bill that we are talking about. This Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Amendment Bill allows municipalities to get revenue for every project that is being undertaken in their respective spaces.
“They are going to tax that project whether you are building a house, whether you are building whatever you are going to build in the space of the municipality and the municipality will be in a position to levy money from that.”
National Treasury has been roped in to monitor the use of funds by municipalities.
“The National Treasury is going to regulate, put regulations and guidelines on how to help municipalities to collect revenue using that piece of legislation. Yes, as much as we agree that municipalities are unable to raise revenue, over time it is going to be boosted by this bill,” Mabuza said.
“But we must also look at probably merging certain municipalities, because some municipalities do not have economic opportunities within their jurisdiction. It is going to take us time to find economic spin-offs and activities that can help generate some income.”
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