The DA has written to the municipal manager, urging permission to convene their own public participation meetings, given the Buffalo City Municipality’s apparent disregard for the public’s constitutional right to engage in developing the 2025/26 draft Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and budget.
The Offices of the Municipal Manager and the Speaker of Council are responsible for arranging public engagements. However, public participation roadshows scheduled for April have been repeatedly postponed until further notice. Given the critical deadline – the draft IDP and budget will be tabled in Council at the end of May – this delay is concerning.
We have, therefore, written to the municipal manager, urging that the DA be allowed to convene ward cluster meetings at times convenient for residents, with the municipality covering venue hire costs. Additionally, we have requested that finance directorate officials attend these meetings to present the budget and collect community input through comments and submissions.
The Constitutional Court has established that public participation is a constitutional imperative in legislative processes, emphasising that the public must be provided a reasonable opportunity to engage and have their concerns addressed.
The municipality is repeating past mistakes, as a similar situation unfolded after inadequate public participation in developing the previous financial year’s IDP and Budget. Public outrage ensued at the start of the 2024/25 financial year when residents faced an unaffordable electricity availability charge, which was imposed without meaningful face-to-face public engagement.
Under no circumstances should residents be deprived, once again, of the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the budget process and be given sufficient time to make written submissions that can influence the final budget adopted by Council.
The DA will always act in the best interests of the residents of Buffalo City, believing that they deserve consultation on the budget and meaningful input opportunities. Any increases imposed at the start of the new financial year would further strain household budgets, forcing residents to dig deeper into their pockets to pay their monthly municipal accounts.