DA welcomes the City of Johannesburg’s pro-poor budget

23 May 2017

The DA welcomes the first Budget Speech that was delivered under the new administration in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) today.

Since the DA-led administration took office the number of people without jobs has dropped by 17 000 in the CoJ. This proves the City’s commitment to job creation and economic growth. The City will spend R228 million in the 2017/18 financial year on turning Joburg into the driver of South Africa’s future economic growth.

R16 million will go towards increasing the number of SME Hubs from seven to 14. This means that more young entrepreneurs will receive support in growing their businesses.

The CoJ remains committed to delivering to the demand for housing as well as to delivering title deeds to beneficiaries. However, the DA notes that the CoJ is limited as the housing top-structure allocation has been cut significantly by the provincial government.

In the last financial year, the City was allocated a top-structure grant of R411 million. However, following the local government elections, the Provincial Government reduced the grant to R345 million in the 2016/17 adjustment budget. The new financial year has seen a further cut as the Provincial Government has reduced this vital grant to R145 million.

The scourge of drug addiction is crippling our youth and depriving them of opportunities. The DA welcomes the R30 million allocation that has been made to capacitate five drug rehabilitation centres as a response to the drug epidemic. The R30 million budget will be spent on:

- capacitation of trained medical professionals – R26 million;

- detox facilities equipment – R1.2 million;

- drug testing kits – R210,000;

- a 24 hour crisis line – R80,000; and

- personnel for the 24 hour crisis line – R2 million.

The DA welcomes the CoJ budget as one that is pro-poor and pro-jobs. We are encouraged that the people of Johannesburg will finally begin to see what good governance feels like. They will no longer be forgotten. The DA is committed to bringing about the change that the people of Joburg called for on 3 August 2016.

Issued by John Moodey, DA Gauteng Leader, 23 May 2017