The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) rejects the Ekurhuleni Metro’s draft budget for the 2025/26 financial year, viewing it as a declaration of war on taxpayers which offers no growth or stability.
The budget reflects financial decline, exorbitant tariff increases and a municipality that has lost control. It merely punishes taxpayers.
Under the guise of “financial sustainability,” substantial tariff increases are imposed on residents while service delivery keeps declining.
The proposed tariff increases are as follows:
• Water: +15%
• Sanitation: +10%
• Electricity: up to +12,74% (Nersa)
• Refuse removal: +6%
Residents must give more but keep getting less: water and power outages, potholes, decaying infrastructure and a Metro where service delivery has ground to a halt.
The collection rate of 86,52% at the end of the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year still falls far short of the budget target of 90%. The Metro has poor liquidity and its current reliance on tariff increases is unsustainable.
Over R2 billion is lost annually due to excessive consumption by so-called indigent residents who have unrestricted access to free services without any control or monitoring.
The Metro clearly lacks the ability and political will to address this issue.
Although the budget boasts six so-called “mayoral pillars”, it offers no concrete plan, no budgetary guarantees and no tangible progress in areas such as infrastructure, maintenance or economic growth.
A service delivery and budget implementation plan was not tabled to the Council during the meeting, yet councillors are expected to approve a R65,5 billion budget.
The Freedom Front Plus, furthermore, also does not support the outcome of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) public participation process in April. Community inputs were simply ignored and not incorporated into the final document.
The Freedom Front Plus demands the following:
• immediately freezing the proposed tariff hikes;
• a forensic audit of the apparent uncontrolled consumption of free services; and
• tax money should be used for maintaining and upgrading infrastructure, not paying excessive salaries.
This budget is neither credible, fair nor in the best interest of Ekurhuleni residents. The Freedom Front Plus will continue to fight for financial discipline, accountability and proper service delivery to law-abiding residents.
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