Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille has slammed her mayoral committee and executive directors for failing to spend 40.5% of the City’s capital budget, especially given that they’re asking residents to pay a moerse 26.9% more for water.
This is to make up for the drop in water sales as residents continue saving water.
“In particular, gauging from the public discontent in response to the proposed 26.9% increase in the water tariff in response to our need for increased income, it is going to reflect very poorly that the Water, Waste and Informal Settlements Directorate has not been able to spend the funds we already have.
“If we continue this trajectory, we will only spend 75% of Capex (capital expenditure), compared to the 92% spend achieved last year,” De Lille said in a scathing letter to the mayoral committee.
The Cape Argus reports that it has seen a copy of the letter, dated 12 April.
De Lille said the major projects behind schedule account for R3.24 billion of the total R7.85b capital budget and have an average 67% of their budgets unassigned.
“Urgent action is required,” De Lille said in bold lettering.
She said if the new water programme is excluded from the portfolio measurement, the current actual spend is just 47.3%.
She hammered the water programme where multiple projects are behind schedule.
Xanthea Limberg, Mayco Member for Water, Waste and Energy, would only say: “I will be able to give you a response with the latest spend for the directorate later. But, generally, utilities have spent more than 90% of the budget every previous financial year and have a good performance record.”