MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ADM REMAINS STEADFAST IN ITS SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITMENT TO ITS CITIZENS
ADM HEADQUARTERS: WEDNESDAY, 26 JUNE 2024
Section 52(d) of the MFMA requires that the municipality’s financial situation including grant spending is reported on each quarter.
As conditional grants also come with strict specifications to ensure they are well spent, the funds cannot be used for any other purpose than what the applicable conditional framework specifies. Corroborating Amathole District Municipality’s (ADM) position and commitment to this statute was Executive Mayor Cllr Anele Ntsangani during his 2024 State of the District Address held on 20 June 2024 in Qumrha.
Themed “Restoring good governance for effective and sustainable service delivery” he stamped the district’s commitment in prioritising targeted service delivery concerns and particularly placing emphasis on reestablishing sound governance for efficient and value service as well as abiding to the requirements aligned to the spending of the conditional grants. Furthermore, it becomes essential that ADM has access to adequate sources of revenue from its own operations and intergovernmental transfers to enable it to carry out its functions.
With grant spending trends in Amathole District Municipality showing a significant improvement compared to previous years, the efforts made by the district have and continue to be towards increasing its expenditure on various grants, which is indicative to the level of stability and commitment to delivering services to its citizens.
ADM GRANT SPENDING
- Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG): The expenditure on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant stands at 99%, which is a substantial improvement from the previous year, an indication that the municipality has been able to utilize the grant effectively for infrastructure development projects
- Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG): The expenditure on the Water Services Infrastructure Grant is at 74%. This grant is primarily focused on improving water infrastructure and services within the district. Efforts are being made to increase expenditure and ensure the timely implementation of projects.
- Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG): The expenditure on the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant is at 79%. This grant is allocated for bulk water supply projects. The municipality is working towards increasing expenditure and completing projects to enhance the water supply in the district.
- Rural Access Roads Grant (RAMS): The expenditure on the Rural Access Roads Grant is at 85%. The grant is dedicated to improving access to rural areas through development off-road asset management systems, collection and analysis of data so as to assist Local Municipalities with road project prioritisation. The municipality has made progress in utilizing the grant for road projects.
- The district will further prioritise intervention to villages without water through an allocation of an R8 million budget for water tanks.
- The spending of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) grant, which has paved way for district wide jobs creation, is at 100%. These varied from on boarding of labour to existing projects, general workers as well as well as professional skilling through internship programs.
These grant spending trends indicate that the municipality is making strides in utilizing allocated funds for infrastructure development, water services, and rural access. The increased expenditure reflects a commitment to addressing the needs of the communities and improving service delivery.
Efforts are being made to further improve grant spending and ensure that projects are completed in a timely manner and the continuous investments in bulk water infrastructures potentially increases the ability of the district to provide this service as well as generate employment possibilities.
FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE
Increasing the municipality’s financial resources through better revenue collection is the main aim and part of the district’s plan along with resolving non-payment concerns, investigating potential new sources of income, as well as enhancing its billing and collection systems. To date a Debt incentive scheme is still underway to encourage ADM citizens to service their debt to the municipality. In addition, the district’s Indigent Registration Campaign is continuing throughout the district to assist qualifying and underprivileged households to access subsidized municipal services. Qualifying households are provided with free basic services relief of 6 kl of water monthly.
The district’s financial plan for spending and saving is geared towards ensuring that the municipality continues to implement its mandate effectively without eroding its capital base and to move towards self-sufficiency in meeting the growing demands of service delivery.
Furthermore, the municipality aims to fully comply with prevailing municipal financial legislations to ensure sound financial management and governance toward both an improved audit outcome as well as attainment of a clean financial report by 2027.
The district remains committed to work tirelessly through innovative and creative ways to ensure its infrastructure meets the required standards, and in this regard, has made budget allocations to deal with the perennial challenge of vandalism of water and sanitation infrastructure as well as investigation of alternative sources of energy to supply uninterrupted water and sanitation services to communities.
In closing, a plea goes out to our communities to join hands in the fight against the scourge of government infrastructure vandalism. ADM does not operate in isolation and as such, vandalism of service infrastructure including the power utility, Eskom, which our plants depend on to run fully, greatly affects everyone.
Enquiries can be directed to Sisa Msiwa on 079 889 4921 | WhatsApp: 071 215 8257 | Email:
Issued by ADM Communications and Customer Care