Tshwane DA questions proposal to raise metro's water tanker budget by over R240m
On Thursday, the Tshwane municipal council voted to pass the adjustment budget for the 2024/2025 financial year.
FILE: An employee with the City of Tshwane collects a sample of water from a municipal tank truck in Hammanskraal on May 23, 2023. Picture: Michele Spatari/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane has questioned the rationality of the municipality increasing its water tanker budget by over R240 million.
On Thursday, the Tshwane municipal council voted to pass the adjustment budget for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Municipalities have until the end of February every year to revise their original budgets to cater for unplanned expenditure, and accommodate additional revenue, among other reasons.
The Tshwane municipality has about R400 million every year set aside for water tankers.
This was largely due to the fact that the entire Hammanskraal area did not have clean, drinking tap water.
However, last month, the municipality restored clean water to some parts of the area.
DA Tshwane caucus leader, Cilliers Brink said the municipality should be decreasing its water tanker budget, not increasing it.
"When I was mayor, the DA and our coalition partners had to increase the allocation for water tankers slightly by R50 million because we had a vicious violent strike (by municipal workers) with water leaks that weren't being attended to. What disaster has hit the City of Tshwane this time around?"
Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya said the water tanker budget was depleted by the previous administration, hence the additional funding.