Councils decry decline in budget ceiling

The economic outlook of the Country and factors that affect government spending have affected Revenue Support Grant allocations of most, if not all Councils in a negative way.This was said by Mogoditshane-Thamaga District Council Chairman, Dux Mafoko. He said over the years, they have seen a decline in budget ceiling growth. The council contested for a budget estimate amounting to more than P241.7 million following the upgrading to a fully-fledged Council but due to adverse economic factors, the Council was only allocated P130 million.“While we were still a Sub-District, we accumulated a deficit of more than 85 Million Pula which accumulated from the previous two financial years where we recorded more than 15 million pula in financial year 2021/2022 and another 15 million pula plus in the 2022/2023 financial year. This deficit was mainly attributed to refuse collection,” said Mafoko.The council chairman stated that for 2023/24 financial year, we do not anticipate such a deficit because we did not engage private compacter trucks contractors and so going forward we are only expecting to make use of our own compacter trucks, which will significantly reduce refuse collection expenses which have been a pain in our recurrent budget.He explained that the financial year 2023/24 is coming to an end and on average, they have been exceeding monthly allocations by 10 million pula and under collection on own source revenue by 1 million. According to Mafoko, this suggest that they will realize a deficit of about P11 million at the end of March 2024. He added: “despite this financial strain, we are doing our level best to take services to the people hence managing wastages, that is why we anticipate to reduce this year’s deficit significantly. We therefore, urge all the stakeholders to join hands with us so that we can achieve more with less.”He said it is quite disheartening that some members of the community continue to litter the environment. "Let us stand against these acts, condemn disposing of waste in un-gazetted areas, and encourage our communities to report all perpetrators to the relevant authorities so that appropriate action can be taken against them," said Mafoko.The council chairman expressed excitement that the Council has an initiative that recognises District leadership as champions of waste management according to the Wards. This initiative, he said, supports Ward Clean Up Campaigns which are essential in promoting clean environment. Mafoko indicated that Ward Clean Up Campaigns go hand in hand with keeping homes clean. “Mogoditshane-Thamaga District Council in collaboration withDebswana launched My Bin, My Waste initiative in Thamaga on 1st March 2024, to promote bin ownership and proper storage of waste prior collection. We therefore commend Debswana for the efforts they are making to keep our District clean”, said Mafoko.

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Councils decry decline in budget ceiling