Giyani mayor tables infrastructure-focused 2025/26 budget
In her address, Zitha outlined a range of capital projects aimed at uplifting various communities within the municipality, some of which have previously made headlines due to delays or stalled progress.
These include the Section E Sports Centre, which has been allocated R10 million for the refurbishment of its vandalised infrastructure, and the Mageva Sports Centre, which also received R10 million for the extension of its pitch.
Additionally, R14 million has been set aside for the upgrading of streets from gravel to paving in Section E. A further R5 million has been allocated for the construction of market stalls in Sections A and C, areas situated near Nkhensani Hospital and Letaba TVET College.
A significant portion of the budget includes R30.4 million for street upgrades in Khakhala village, R21.9 million for internal street upgrades in N'wamankena village, and R26.5 million for similar projects in Babangu village.
'We have also set aside R11.5 million for basic electricity infrastructure to ensure that households without access to electricity are provided with an essential power supply,' explained the mayor.
However, despite these ambitious development plans, the municipality projects a slight decline in income for the 2025/26 financial year, with projected revenue decreasing from R687.8 million in 2024/25 to R673 million in the current financial year starting in July. Nevertheless, revenue from property rates and refuse services continues to play a vital role in the municipality's finances.
Meanwhile, for the 2025/26 financial year, income from these sources is expected to total R101.8 million, with a steady increase to R106.4 million in 2026/27 and R111.1 million in 2027/28, as outlined in the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework.
The mayor emphasised the importance of adjusting tariffs to reflect the actual cost of delivering municipal services in line with the Local Government Municipal Systems Act. According to her, this approach will enable the municipality to generate sufficient revenue to fully cover service costs, ensure sustainable delivery, and invest in critical infrastructure.
She also urged residents to settle their outstanding municipal accounts, stating that doing so plays a vital role in enabling the municipality to provide improved services such as water, sanitation, and waste management.
'We have incentives that we give to individuals that settle their accounts with the municipality, such as massive discounts and others, so please use this opportunity to clear your debts and assist in stabilising the municipality's financial position,' she said, urging all residents to pay for municipal services.
Meanwhile, the total budget expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year was recorded at R916.8 million. However, this amount has been reduced by R10 million in the following year, bringing the total projected expenditure for the 2025/26 financial year down to R906.8 million. This was welcomed by several opposition parties as a step towards achieving sustainable and cost-saving operations.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
9 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
City Power continues with revenue collection drive
JOHANNESBURG - City Power has announced that it's actively disconnecting illegal connections weekly to recover R1.6 billion owed to its Hursthill substation. The latest blitz was conducted yesterday at several areas of the city centre where commercial customers owe the utility R23 million. Areas including Industria and Crown were targeted after they were previously disconnected and reconnected illegally. The Hursthill substation supplies electricity to Auckland Park, Melville, Westdene, Coronationville, and surrounding areas. City powers have brought in the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and private security companies to ensure smooth disconnection operations after threats to the safety of technicians. One business identified on Bunsen Road owes R14 million, while two others in Industria collectively owe R6 million. The power utility says it will closely monitor the areas to ensure compliance.
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
Minister launches R5m youth fund in Mopani
LIMPOPO – Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane delivered a powerful address at the 2025 Ministerial Youth Day celebration held at Mopani TVET College's Sir Val Duncan Campus on Friday, June 27. The event was hosted in partnership with Mopani District Municipality (MDM), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Letaba TVET College, and other stakeholders. In her speech, Nkabane reflected on the legacy of the 1976 Soweto uprising, marking the 49th anniversary of the historic moment when young South Africans rose against an oppressive regime. She paid tribute to the youth who lost their lives during the uprising and emphasised that the mission they began must now be carried forward through education, innovation, and opportunity. 'This is no longer a day of protest, but a day of progress. We commemorate Youth Month with skills, innovation, and opportunity,' said Nkabane. The minister highlighted one of the country's pressing challenges, expressing concern about the rising number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), describing it as a national emergency requiring immediate action. Moreover, in a major announcement, she launched a R5 million Youth Enterprise Fund, which is a partnership between NYDA and the MDM. The fund will support young entrepreneurs in starting and growing businesses in the district to foster economic growth, job creation, and youth empowerment. This is more than an investment in the economy. It is an investment in youth agency, dignity, and innovation,' she said. Nkabane also praised the Limpopo province and MEC Ernest Rachoene for signing a memorandum of understanding with all seven TVET colleges in the province. This partnership will promote work-integrated learning, giving students hands-on training and improving their readiness for employment and entrepreneurship. In her address to the youth, the minister offered words of encouragement and reassurance: 'You are not forgotten. You are the most powerful resource this country has. Your energy, creativity, and resilience are unmatched.' She urged young people to believe in themselves and encouraged society to support them in realising their full potential. She also called for a united front against the challenges plaguing the youth, including unemployment, gender-based violence, bullying, and substance abuse in schools. The minister concluded by thanking Mopani and Letaba TVET colleges for their leadership in hosting the event and called for collective action going forward. 'Let us walk forward, not just in memory, but in mission. Together we must rise, together we must build, and together we must empower the future generation,' said Nkabane. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Advocates push for unified labels to curb food waste and combat SA's hunger crisis
A unified label would eliminate consumer confusion, reduce needless food waste and simplify compliance for the industry. It is estimated that up to 31% of the country's food production is lost or wasted each year, while millions of South Africans go hungry. Food losses and waste happen at different stages of the food supply chain, from production and distribution to consumption and disposal. There have been growing calls to rework policies to help reduce waste, whether it be through incentivising the donation of goods to food recollection organisations, or educating the consumer on responsible consumption. JX & Co, a food advocacy company, is petitioning for unified and clearer food labels, specifically expiry dates, to curb food waste. In its petition it writes: 'We found that inconsistent expiry labels 'Best Before', 'Use By' and the unregulated 'Sell By' fuel confusion and waste in South African homes, which discard over R10-billion worth of edible food each year. That same confusion widens the gap between surplus and access, exacerbating food insecurity and petitioning the National Regulator for compulsory specifications and the South African Bureau of Standards to adopt one clear, standardised mark: Safe to Eat Until [DD MM YYYY]. This simple change could halve household food loss while ensuring safer, more equitable access to nutrition,' the petition reads. Daily Maverick interviewed JX Gumede who is spearheading this call at his Salt Rock home on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Gumede is a food justice advocate and an AI ethicist. When asked why he chose this campaign specifically he said that food labelling was one of the points at which we could make meaningful changes in food waste. 'Labelling offers a very good entry point, because with labelling it is a policy. And once you've got the policy, you then create a bottleneck for manufacturers and producers to have to get through that policy constraint in order to be able to access the market.' Gumede said that although household waste was not the biggest food loss point of weakness, curbing food waste there could make a difference. 'Second to processing is retail, together with household consumption that contribute greatly to food loss and waste,' said Gumede. 'So I'm mixing retail and household consumption as one because the consumer is engaging the label at the store and is engaging the label at home in their fridge. So that's why I'm grouping it as one thing. And it is a significant part of food wastage, to the extent that it's in the region of about 20% of all food wasted comes from this confusion around food waste. A total of 1.6 to 1.8 million tons is wasted at household level. About 600,000 is wasted at retail level. So you're talking about more than two million tons,' said Gumede. 'It's not just labels (that contribute to food loss and waste), but labels make a big part of that. Because a very clear example is that if you look at a label and you don't understand it, research proves empirically that food labels create confusion. Due to the confusion created by food labels, there's wastage,' Gumede said. Gumede said South Africa was not the only country facing this issue. 'There are certain countries also looking at having a unified label. Some countries have more than 20 different labels on food items. Can you imagine trying to decipher what they actually mean beyond what you assume they mean? Sell-by date 'The sell-by date is a date that is useful for the retailer to rotate their stock. So it's basically giving the retailer a heads-up on when that item more or less should be off their shelves. 'Hence, even for this retailer, they remove it on the sell-by date. It doesn't mean the item is unsafe. It just tells you it should be a good idea, and it is a recommendation and suggestion that this item be sold and all off the shelf by (for example) 12 September. 'Now all of these dates, including sell by, use by, and best by, all of them have got a margin of safety. In other words, none of them has a date where the food or the item expires at 12 o'clock or at one minute past 12, it's now inedible. These are suggestive parameters, what they buffer. 'Consumers look at the date, they see the date, they grab the item, they remind themselves that the date has come, and even if it's a day or two and in the bin it goes. They don't do any sensory tests like, does it smell off? And I'm not recommending people should be relying on sensory tests for their safety, but I am saying common sense should prevail,' said Gumede. 'Our petition and the campaign we are driving is of one label, and label along the lines of 'safe to eat until' — that's it. Cuts out the confusion and the misunderstanding and optimal this and optimal that — safe to eat until. One label.' Experts have proposed interventions such as supporting sustainable agricultural practices, improved storage facilities and efficient distribution systems. Reducing food loss and waste at the source, from farm to fork, is both cost effective and environmentally responsible. The draft food loss strategy states that: 'The interventions include behaviour change through education: central to the success of this strategy is changing consumer behaviour. It is essential to raise awareness about the consequences of food waste and the importance of responsible consumption. 'Partnerships: collaboration with various stakeholders, including government agencies, food producers, retailers and NGOs is crucial to implementing effective food waste reduction initiatives.' Gumede says he isn't discounting the food safety issues that caused the stringent laws and methods retailers use. 'I'm not promoting the selling of any food item, whether it's within the expiry date or not, that is spoiled and is not safe for human consumption.' Gumede was a commercial farmer and also studied philosophy and ethics, which led to his current role as an AI ethicist, specifically within food justice. He will be a speaker at the the 7th annual Food Indaba this weekend. The indaba began on 7 July 2025 and will end on 20 July, under the theme ' Artificial Intelligence and the Food System '. 'I understand that in order to not get into the issues of maybe, maybe not in terms of food safety they would rather bin it than donate the food, or even make it available beyond that date, which then calls on us to question whether our policies incentivise people, retailers in particular, to still offer that food at a discounted rate after its best buy date. There are countries where there are certain provisions to help retailers sell food,' said Gumede. 'In South Africa, we don't have any loopholes. There's no leeway. There's no accommodation yet we have the highest inequality levels in the world. We also have one of the highest wastage per person of any country in the world. So the fact that we selectively employ highly restrictive food safety standards in a country where nearly a quarter of South Africans go to bed without food, those are positions that I cannot readily reconcile,' he said.
