Story audio is generated using AI
The City of Ekurhuleni has tabled a R71bn budget for the 2026/27 financial year, vowing lower tariff increases and increased spending on repairs and maintenance.
The city’s finance MMC, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, delivered the budget speech at the OR Tambo government precinct in Germiston on Thursday.
Dlabathi said the metro had reduced some proposed tariff increases after public consultations and concerns about affordability. The city now proposed:
- a 2% increase in property rates;
- 8.35% for sanitation;
- 11% for water; and
- 3.7% for refuse removal; while
- burial and cemetery tariffs for residents would remain the same.
Dlabathi said the municipality had tried to balance affordability with the need to maintain services and infrastructure. “We are convinced that our tariffs, especially those that are within our control, are reasonable relative to current economic realities,” he said.
He added that the budget was shaped by concerns raised during 23 public consultation meetings, where residents called for:
- improved service delivery;
- better roads;
- water infrastructure;
- electricity supply; and
- stronger maintenance programmes.
The city also used the budget speech to outline its financial recovery plans after uncovering more than R2.5bn in electricity revenue losses linked to weak billing controls and account manipulation. Dlabathi said about R2bn had already been billed and R819m recovered through back-billing by the end of the third quarter of the current financial year.
We have an obligation to protect revenue and as such, we have no tolerance for any fraudulent activities
— Jongizizwe Dlabathi, Ekurhuleni finance MMC
According to the city’s finance boss, the losses mainly involved large power users and were caused by:
- inadequate system controls;
- account deletions; and
- ineffective billing processes.
The city would refer the matter for special investigation through a government institution dealing with corruption and criminal activity, he said, adding that the city wanted to secure a 90% revenue collection rate and improve its financial position as part of a wider recovery strategy.
Dlabathi said the budget reflected a city trying to recover from years of governance instability and declining service delivery. He blamed some of the financial problems on coalition instability, saying it weakened governance and damaged public trust in the municipality.
Despite the challenges, the city said it had avoided additional unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the latest audit report, and was continuing with its “Operation Clean Audit” programme.
The city plans to spend:
- R4.6bn on repairs and maintenance, up from R3.8bn;
- R702m on electricity infrastructure maintenance;
- R830m on roads and stormwater systems;
- R1.9bn on maintaining sanitation and water infrastructure;
- R88m on waste-disposal facilities;
- R586m on electricity substations and related infrastructure;
- R60m on electricity revenue-enhancement programmes; and
- R40m on water leakages and installing water-management restrictors.
Dlabathi warned municipal workers and service providers involved in corrupt billing practices that the city would make them face the consequences. “We have an obligation to protect revenue and as such, we have no tolerance for any fraudulent activities,” he said.
He said the city wants to improve frontline services and restore public confidence after years of governance and financial challenges, and had plans to recruit cleaners and internal security officers after delays in implementing hiring plans.
Residents expect clean water, working sanitation, reliable electricity and potholes to be fixed from July 1, Dlabathi added.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.