STATEMENT BY EXECUTIVE MAYOR, ALDERMAN PATRICIA DE LILLE: CAPITAL BUDGET SPENDING FOR 2010/11 FINANCIAL YEAR ON TRACK
20 JUNE 2011
The City of Cape Town is committed to clean, efficient and transparent government. This administration believes that only by governing openly can we be assured of serving all the people.
Part of that responsibility involves providing open and honest information about the City's finances. Only by ensuring that we are spending the public's money responsibly can we ensure that we consistently maintain the best municipal services in the country.
Those services include rolling out a world-class public transportation system through the Integrated Rapid Transit Project, MyCiTi; providing the highest level of basic municipal services to everyone, especially the poor; providing infrastructure and basic municipal services to informal settlements; and continuing with our excellent record of providing housing opportunities to those most in need.
The City of Cape Town is on track to spend 85% of its Capital budget for the 2010/2011 financial year, a timeline which is not yet concluded.
The Capital budget for the past financial year (2010/11) was R3996 million. Of that budget, R2170 million has already been spent to date on capital projects for the City. Of the remaining amount, R992 million is formally committed to other budgetary spending items, transactions which should be concluded according to the budget timeline for this financial year.
That will mean that the City should have spent 85% of its 2010/2011 capital budget for this financial year. This is a significant achievement given the processes that government must follow to openly deliver on our delivery mandate.
This administration will only be satisfied with a figure approaching 100% Capital budget spent. In that regard, we will request a full explanation from the Executive Management Team of the City of Cape Town to discuss the 2010/2011 Capital budget and ways of ensuring a spending figure close to 100% on capital expenditure in the next financial year.
This information was discussed openly at the public Mayoral Committee meeting last week and is public knowledge. Cape Town continues to be the only metro in the country with open Mayoral Committee meetings where City finances are discussed in a transparent manner. This is in stark contrast to metros like Johannesburg where City finances remain a closed matter inaccessible to citizens.
Our significant spending will help us maintain our position as the best metro in the country for service delivery. It will also help us maintain our excellent record in following all due processes in proper financial management. That record includes consistently clean audits from the Auditor-General and recognition from the National Treasury as the metro with the best financial record of spending money allocated.
This administration will continue to place the highest emphasis on clean and responsible financial management. Only in so doing can we assure the citizens of our metro that we are managing their resources responsibly and to ensure the best delivery of services.
Statement issued by the Communication Department, City of Cape Town, June 20 2011
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