McKeed Kotlolo

McKeed Kotlolo

Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga has unveiled a bigger yearly budget for the 2007- 08 financial year to improve infrastructure in its seven local municipalities.

In his speech last week, executive mayor Speed Mashilo cited this reason for the budget going up by 40percent compared with last year.

More than R88million had been allocated to the seven municipalities to develop the district's infrastructure.

Mashilo said the district municipality would use its scarce resources yearly to accelerate service delivery, attack poverty and underdevelopment.

He said people and municipalities within the district would benefit from the increased levy replacement grant that had shot up from R186million last financial year to R212million.

The Expanded Public Works Programme had doubled from R30million to R60million this financial year and the majority of the identified projects in the budget were "labour intensive and aimed at drawing in marginalised communities in the second economy".

He said the equitable share grant of R2,85million had been allocated to deal with the problem of service delivery and an additional electrification grant of R4,6million, the district had received for the first time.

A total of R67,8million earmarked for water supply and sanitation meant that more people access the necessary services.

Mashilo appealed to local businesses to invest in projects started in the district.