18 Mar 2025

As the Kanye District Council looks forward to the 2025/26 financial year, it has proposed a recurrent budget estimate totalling P174 million.

This includes approximately P166 million stemming from the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) alongside P8 million generated from its own income.

Kanye council chairperson, Mr Morapedi Kgosithebe presented this budget figure on Moday, noting a significant decrease of P2 million from the previously approved budget of P176 million for the 2024/25 fiscal year. This reduction reflects a decline of 1.14 per cent.

Mr Kgosithebe emphasised that this reduction meant the council must adapt to reduced financial resources, highlighting the urgent need to intensify the implementation of revenue maximisation strategies, enforce cost containment measures, and explore ways to diversify their own income sources.

He said key revenue collections were expected to arise from staff housing rentals, tender fees, trade license fees, and the Matimela Fund. However, Mr Kgosithebe expressed concerns over the council's current financial state, which had seen a deficit in several recurrent budget allocations.

He specifically pointed that the Destitution Relief funds were facing a deficit of about P615 000. This shortfall, he noted, was largely due to an increasing number of clients enrolled in the destitution programme and adverse conditions stemming from limited rainfall and severe weather experienced throughout 2024.

Mr Kgosithebe highlighted a pressing economic concern: the current unemployment rate in the country, which stands at 23.38 per cent. He stated that this rising level of unemployment posed a significant threat to national security and needs to be addressed urgently.

To combat this challenge, he said the new administration planned to devise innovative strategies aimed at reducing unemployment, including aligning educational programmes in tertiary institutions with industry demands to better prepare graduates for available job opportunities. ENDS