Mochudi — Kgatleng District Council (KDC) has been urged to prioritise increasing revenue streams to augment its annual budget.
KDC chairperson, Mr Daniel Molokwe said at the beginning of a Full Council session on Monday that with many demands on the council's annual budget, new ways should be explored to increase revenue streams.
"Cost saving and control measures should be implemented in order to avoid a deficit at the end of the year and we need to strengthen collection strategies in order to raise enough income. The overall financial position of the council is unfavourable," he said
He said the Kgatleng District Development Foundation would be instrumental in the effort to diversify revenue streams.
To this end, he pointed out that there were several public-private partnership proposals that had been shelved for too long, and could have improved the council's financial state if they had been approved.
"Revitalizing these projects could inject billions of Pula's into our local economy, while advancing the development of our district," he said.
Mr Molokwe stated that these proposals included a P5.1 billion Smart City initiative, and luxury home village projects that could be undertaken through investment subsidiaries.
The meeting learnt that the council has made strides towards improved service by taking a decision to fully recognise and capacitate Mmathubudukwane Service Centre.
Mr Molokwe explained that the district commissioner's office had stationed a dedicated officer as the caretaker over central government activities in the service centre.
Regarding land allocation, Mr Molokwe said Kgatleng had a pending allocation of a total of 2145 plots across some of its settlements in order to contribute to the national target of 100 000 to be allocated across the country for 2023.
On the water front, it was disclosed that Water Utilities Corporation had made significant strides in enhancing water supply infrastructure.
Mr Molokwe said a dedicated and larger pipeline to Matebele had been constructed, ensuring sufficient water supply while the ongoing North-South Water Carrier Project 2.2 aimed to connect Artesia and Leshibitse to the Masama water supply complex was expected to be completed by July 2024.
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