By Libuseng Nyaka
QWAQWA – A member of Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), Moeketsi Lebesa, threw his weight behind the mid-term budget adjustment, warning of the consequences of failure to do so.
Moeketsi said this during a council sitting at Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipality last Thursday March 30 ,2023.
“If we do not approve this budget adjustment now, this municipality will come to a standstill. It is not a choice but procedure and policy. You will never be able to procure; I therefore support approval of this item.”
Concurring with the Lebesa, Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipality council whip Lindiwe Makhalema said: “I think we all want to have an audit opinion that is different from what we have now; we want to have clean audit. This draft mid-term budget seeks to be adopted as part of compliance.
“I hear what councillors are saying, but what is critical is the immediate adoption of the draft budget; we must embark on the public participation including the engagements of councillors.”
This after DA’s Alison Oates reluctantly supported the approval and just said the item has been noted, but after raising some dissatisfaction.
“I suggest we wait until April when we have another council meeting where we will discuss the filling of the CFO position. This will enable us to get that legislation which impacts adjustment.”
Acknowledging the adoption of the mid-term adjustment budget, Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipality executive mayor Conny Msibi outlined what mid term budget adjustment entails and the importance of its adoption.
“We need to understand that, as the municipality or as government, we have legislations that guide us and from time to time, there will be those regulations that will be brought to us and we will have to adopt them so that they can be effective. We are being guided on how to draft our budget and there are processes.
“In mid term we have to revise our budget so that’s what we call budget adjustment. We look at our performance and we check where are lacking, where we have spent and where we have not spent, then go back according to the service delivery plan. When there is a need we will adjust, when we have to move some funds to another vote then we will move them. Where we need to add we will, but that on its own cannot just be done randomly. It has to come to council so that council gives us that mandate that chops and changes on the budget.”
Prior to adoption of the draft budget adjustment, the chairperson of Municipal Public Accounts Committee Setswana Chabedi updated the council on the developments that led to the tabling of the draft budget adjustment.
“We are guided by three regulations, from the Local Government Municipal Finance Act No 56 of 2003, followed by the Municipal System Act no 32 of 2000 and the Municipal Structures Act no 117 of 1998. As committee, we convened on 6 and 15 March 2023 to discuss the draft annual report of the financial year 2021/2023 and we were graced by the presence of the AG through a virtual platform.”
Chabedi stated that, as the oversight committee, they recommend for the approval of the annual report for financial.
