IMATU COMMENTS ON THE 2016 NATIONAL BUDGET

The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) is pleased to see that the Minister of Finance’s 2016 Budget Speech emphasised the need to focus on infrastructure development that will accelerate growth, create work opportunities and build a more equal society.

“We welcome the Minister’s pledge to improve bulk infrastructure and residential services in metropolitan municipalities, the efficient allocation of expenditure and his commitment to cutting wasteful expenditure and eliminating corruption. It is also encouraging to note the completion of the R7.9 billion capital transfer to the Development Bank of Southern Africa to expand lending and implementation support to municipalities,” commented IMATU General Secretary, Johan Koen.

South Africa’s economy needs to grow faster and more inclusively. IMATU supports the National Development Plan’s vision of newly developed spatial plans for cities, improved public transport, better procurement and supply chain management and the upgrading of informal settlements.

“In his Parliamentary Address, Minister Gordhan acknowledged the growing pressures facing municipalities from both the rising cost of bulk services and the rapidly growing numbers of households. We agree that underspending of infrastructure grants, wasteful expenditure and inadequate training must be addressed. Furthermore, IMATU supports the Back to Basics programme and believes that active monitoring of performance in governance and stronger accountability will significantly improve service delivery,” stated Koen.

“Sustainable economic growth and development will only take place once we start to effectively tackle the challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty. IMATU believes that with effective leadership, correctly channelled resources, the up-skilling of workers and the rooting out of corruption, Local Government can offer a sustainable service delivery model that will assist in the efficient collaboration between local, provincial and national tiers of Government,” concluded Koen.

IMATU has been actively involved in the process of amalgamating a number of municipalities, reducing the number of municipalities from 278 to 257. MATU will continue to monitor this transition process, to ensure the viability of the municipalities in question as well as ensuring that the rights of our members are protected.

“Last year, IMATU met with officials from the National Treasury to discuss the challenges around supply chain management in Local Government. We welcome the mandatory use of the new e-tender portal. Procurement transparency and accessible reference prices for a wide range of goods and services will go a long way in tackling the serious problems of fraud, corruption and preferential service providers,” concluded Koen