New Tshwane administration announces tariff hikes for basic services in its first budget

Tshwane executive mayor Solly Msimanga tabled his budget in Pretoria on Thursday‚ committing his administration to ensuring that it is less expensive to live in the capital.

The City of Tshwane's new administration has tabled its first budget‚ announcing increases in‚ water‚ electricity and refuse removal.

“Electricity will increase by 1.8%‚ water by 10.2% and refuse removal by 7.5%. Property rates tariff will be based on the new valuation roll. The total account is expected to increase by around 2% on average.

It is important to note that water and electricity tariffs are mainly influenced by the Rand Water and Eskom tariffs respectively‚” Msimanga said.

“In real terms this means that a Tshwane account holder who paid R394.54 on property rates in the 2016/17 financial year‚ will pay R346.43 in the upcoming 2017/18 financial year. This is a R48.11 decrease in what the City is asking our residents to pay.”

Msimanga’s budget was the first since the new administration took over after the August elections last year.

“In compiling this budget‚ this new administration paid great attention to the affordability of our budget. We are happy to announce today that this budget currently before council will make it less expensive for our consumers‚ the residents of Tshwane‚ compared to what would have been the case if proper affordability assessments were not carried out in the formulation of this budget.”

Tshwane set aside R1.3 billion to maintain and repair infrastructure.

“This will also serve to catalyse economic activity in ‘township’ economies by creating a more conducive business environment through the delivery of expanded and reliable services and transport links‚” he explained.

The city will also invest in developing infrastructure in infrastructure in Rosslyn‚ Ekangala and Waltloo to strengthen the industrial backbone of the city for faster and more sustainable growth.

In the 2017/18 budget R660-million has been set aside to these industrial nodes to ensure that the city harnesses the existing industry that will help it build a better Tshwane.

This follows expansion plans by BMW (R6 billion) and Nissan (expansion from 40‚000 to 80‚000 units) in their plants in Rosslyn.