eThekwini ratepayers demand inclusion in municipal budget drafting process

The eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) called for more informed public participation in the 2026/27 financial year municipal budget preparation process.

The ERPM has also written to municipal officials requesting to be included in the drafting and preparation stage of the budget, together with the publication of the budget and the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process.

Asad Gaffar, chairperson of ERPM, said deliberations have commenced on mid-year budget performance and preparations for the 2026 municipal valuation roll.

He said the ERPM is increasingly concerned by the continued reliance on post-draft consultation as the primary mechanism for public participation.

Gaffar hopes he can elicit a response from the municipality by February 6, 2026, with guidance on how ERPM could be included in the preparatory phase of the budget drafting process.

Gaffar was also concerned about the mid-year budget and performance assessment report for the period ending December 30, 2025.

According to the eThekwini Finance Committee report tabled at the council meeting on Thursday, the actual operating revenue was 98% of the year-to-date budget, with a variance of -2%, and revenue generated sits at 54.83%. 

The capital expenditure was reported to be sitting at 84% of the budget, and with a variance of -16%. During the discussion at the committee level, attention was drawn to the reported cost coverage ratio of 14 days, excluding grants, and 20 days including grants.

It was also noted that the creditors' payment period is currently sitting at 50 days, against a benchmark of 30 days. A concern was raised about the total outstanding creditors at the end of December 2025, which was sitting at R1.7 billion, which was higher compared to the same period in the previous year (R222 million, translating to a R1 billion or 151% increase).

Gaffar was also concerned about repeated budget reprioritisations during the financial year cycle.

The ERPM was concerned that, in prior financial years, public participation had consistently been conducted only after the eThekwini Executive Committee (EXCO) deliberations had taken place, tariffs and revenue assumptions had been discussed, and a draft budget framework had already been formulated.

Gaffar said that at that stage, the scope for meaningful influence is materially limited, reducing public participation to a procedural compliance exercise rather than a genuine consultative process.

“This approach has had tangible financial consequences, including sustained increases in property rates, service tariffs, and municipal charges implemented without early engagement on affordability, valuation impacts, or alternative options.”

He said the legislative framework and the Municipal Systems Act require community participation and transparency in the preparation of the municipal budget, and not after it has been substantially determined.

“By the time a draft budget is tabled, key decisions relating to tariffs, revenue modelling, valuation assumptions, and expenditure priorities have already been fixed. Participation at that stage cannot meaningfully influence outcomes,” he said.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za