Service delivery and infrastructure issues are high on the City of Johannesburg’s agenda for the 2018/2019 financial year according to the City’s MMC for Finance Funzela Ngobeni.

Tabling the City’s R59 billion budget for the 2018/2019 financial year in the Johannesburg City Council on Thursday Ngobeni said government agreed that a greater sense of urgency was needed in addressing backlogs in infrastructure including electricity, water and refuse removal.

In order to address these issues the City will have to increase tariffs for these services. According to the City electricity tariffs will increase by 7.37% as of July 1 2018, while water and sanitation services will jump by a staggering 14.2%. Refuse removal services will also increase by an average of 6085 in the new 2018/2019 financial year.

Looking at the budget allocations City Power will receive R1 billion to tackle maintenance and carry out electrification work while Johannesburg Water will receive R10.6 billion.

Ngobeni’s budget came only days after the Auditor-General’s report revealed that wasteful and irregular expenditure in municipalities was up by 75%. Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu’s report also revealed that many municipalities are in financial distress.

Ngobeni noted that the City was working hard to remain financially sustainable and increase revenue collection while being aware of the challenges experienced by its residents.  His office also noted that the City’s financial health was stable.

“Currently, the City’s cash coverage ratio is set at 45 days, performing better than National Treasury’s stipulated 30 days,” it said.