DA encourages Communities to take part in Budget/ IDP Consultation Meetings

by Cllr Thavha Maifala-Masebe — DA Spokesperson: Public Participation and Petitions

Date: 11 April 2023

Release: Immediate

Type: Media Statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) would like to encourage all residents of the City to take active part in the consultative meetings to discuss the draft Budget for the 2023/24 and the revised Integrated Development Plan (IDP).

As we near the last quarter of the financial year, the City will be presenting the draft Budget and IDP to communities across the city to provide councillors and relevant stakeholders with an opportunity to represent the needs and interests of their constituencies. The DA therefore urges residents in all wards to participate in these meetings to ensure that the most prominent needs in the ward are prioritised for delivery. The purpose of these meetings is for residents to have a say on how their money should be spent in the ward.

Although it is an annual legislative requirement for the city to present the draft budget and IDP to residents, the DA believes that these consultative meetings are important as it provides residents with an opportunity to be heard and to have their views reflected in the final budget decision that would be taken in Council.

While the DA understands that not every idea shared by the residents can reasonably be included in the budget, the meetings provide an opportunity for the City to respond with reasons around why these ideas cannot be taken on board or implemented.

For more information regarding when the IDP/ Budget consultation meetings will take place, residents can contact their ward councillors or visit the City’s official website or social media pages.

The DA is committed to ensuring that public participation is a meaningful process and that it is not merely reduced to an arbitrary legislative compliance exercise. We would like to encourage residents to become more active by participating as far as possible in every aspect of government decision-making processes.

We furthermore would like to encourage residents to come out in their numbers to ensure that the IDP for their ward is as far as possible, reflective of their immediate community needs.

Cllr. Thavha Maifala-Masebe

DA Spokesperson: Public Participation and Petitions

0615404973