KAROO NEWS - During a council meeting held at the Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) council chambers, Council approved an operational budget of R248,7m and a capital budget of R9,7m for the upcoming financial year starting on 1 July.
The municipality's main sources of revenue will include an equitable share, which includes the Levy Replacement Grant amounting to R111,1m for the 2024/25 financial year.
Conditional grants reflected in the Division of Revenue Act (Dora) will contribute R4,7m, with sector departments providing R71,5m.
Training and development initiatives will receive R2,6m from the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA). The remaining budget will be funded from accumulated surplus.
A total project budget of R127,2m was also approved for 2024/25, allocated as follows: R600 000 to the Office of the Speaker for various community engagement programmes; R200 000 for a youth fund aimed at addressing youth unemployment; R200 000 each for women and disability empowerment and for the implementation of the district's HIV/Aids plan; R1,2m from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) for fire services, waste management and project management; R20m for the rehabilitation and upgrade of taxi routes in Makana Local Municipality, part of a multi-year R50m project funded by the Provincial Department of Transport; R50m for the Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme, a portion of a larger multi-year R600m projects funded by the Provincial Department of Human Settlements; R15,3m for fire services, with R14m allocated to local municipalities; R4m for water provision challenges and related training initiatives funded by LGSETA at R3,3 million; R2,5 million for the continuation of the Rural Roads Asset Management System (RRAMS) project, funded by the National Department of Transport; R7,6m for tourism promotion and development, including creative industries; R1,2 million for local economic development initiatives, including support to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs); R1,9m for technical town planning initiatives, including IDP support and technical town planning assistance.
"The above projects are a clear indication that the district's focus is to grow the economy to ensure that the disadvantaged groups within the district benefit through these initiatives and support the local municipalities within the district," said SBDM Mayor Deon de Vos.
Council also approved a R4,9m budget for the Cacadu Development Agency (CDA). In his closing remarks, De Vos emphasised the importance of improving the quality of life for all communities in the district and promoting socio-economic development.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
