A BRIEF BACKGROUND TO GCC IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Presented on the 25th May 2011; JHB, RSA

INTRODUCTIONGaborone City is the capital of BotswanaIt has a population of about 186,007 inhabitantsGaborone City Council is the local authority based in the capital city.In Botswana there are 16 Councils or Municipalities spread across the country. Within the 16 Councils there are two City Councils Gaborone and Francistown.

The Structure of GCCGCC was established by an act of Parliament Local Government Act of 1965 Chapter 40:02.The Council is run by two complimentary arms (wings)The Political Wing Led by the Mayor and Councilors both elected and nominated.The Administration Led by the CEO and Heads of departmentsCurrently there are 35 councilors and 2,500 employees at GCC.

Operational StrategyCEO is the secretary to the MayorCouncilors guide and take decisions for Council administration/Management to implement.However major policy decision are vested with the office of the Minister of Local Government.Decentralization and devolution of power still lies with the Center Ministry of Local Government.Councils still are bound to consult the center for any major administration or financial decisions for authority to proceed.

Financing the CouncilCouncils are not financially independent100% of the GCC development budget is from the Central Government, all major projects are wholly government funded.The recurrent budget is also funded by the center at about 90% whilst the council funds 10% through it own revenue sources.The funding from government is called RSG and varies according to the economic performance.2011/12 fiscal year recurrent budget for GCC is P274 million whilst development budget is P80 million

Revenue Sources of GCCThe council raises revenue through the services that it provides to the Community such as; Collection of waste, emptying pit latrines, impounding stray animals, plan perusal fees etc.Furthermore the council collects property rates and service levy for all the liable properties and areas.All these are collected but not as effeciently as possible. There is a huge default rate for property rates and service levy. At the beginning of 2009/10 GCC was owed over P50 million in arrears of property rates

Funding for InfrastructureDue to the current economic slumps the funding for infrastructure projects has dropped drastically hence the need to explore other sources.The Council cannot approach potential donors without the approval of the Ministry hence any potential has to be routed through the center. Even the utilization of savings if any or the sale of some of the Council assets.However this could be explored as the choice of projects is within the control of the Council.

Funding for InfrastructureGCC has undeveloped properties that can be used as collateral for PPP development.The government can still act as guarantee for all the loan agreements the Council has with the financial institutionAll donor agencies that funded development projects have been doing that through the Central government

Way ForwardThe Councils have been given permission to engage the stakeholders to solicit for assistance in carrying out their development agendasThere are twinning agreements between Councils and cities. GCC so far has about four twinning partners in Africa and ChinaGCC has also come into service level agreements with major business partners and service providersThe Council has also strengthened the collections and its controls to maximize collection of the arrears.

Thank you for your attention