Tshwane’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance Eugene Modise, also deputy mayor, has defended the city’s approved adjustments budget, saying it is credible and funded.
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The City of Tshwane’s passing of the adjusted budget during a Thursday's ordinary council sitting has drawn sharp criticism from the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) for being unrealistic and unfunded.
Unmoved by the criticism the multiparty coalition government formed by the ANC, EFF and ActionSA as major partners maintained the budget is credible and funded.
The opposition parties argue the budget is unfunded, citing a growing deficit of R5,3m, and that the coalition government is covering up financial distress.
The DA's Cilliers Brink said: "The ANC further maintains that this adjustment budget is funded, this is false. Internal documents show that the city's deficit has increased from R1,63bn to R2,8bn. A further R2,5bn in creditors have been carried over from the previous financial year, effectively increasing the deficit to R5,3m."
The DA rejected the budget's adjustments, saying they were "based on carefully hidden information, half-truths and devious accounting".
"There are glaring issues with this adjustment budget, chief among which, is that it allocates no additional funds to water tankers, while internal reports to the budget steering committee state that the budget allocation for water tankers has been depleted, and that R125m worth of unauthorised expenditure has already been incurred at the end of December 2025. This was with six months left in the financial year," Brink said.
He claimed the continued spending on water tankers without additional budget allocation is a deliberate attempt to conceal the expenditure from council and the public.
According to Brink, the budget mirrors the city's lowered expectations and inability to deliver services.
"Finance targets have all been adjusted downward, while National Treasury Circular 88 indicators on improving water, electricity and roads have been removed entirely from the Service Delivery and Budget Implement Plan (SDBIP)," he said.
FF Plus councillor Grandi Theunissen said despite the coalition having hailed the budget as being funded the adjusted budget proved it was "unrealistic and the metro has had to downwardly adjust key performance areas (KPA) because the original targets were not achieved".
He said the municipality overestimated its financial resilience and is unable to meet revenue targets for health services, adding that financial margins for electricity, water, sanitation and refuse have been adjusted downwards.
"While tariffs keep climbing, the metro is delivering less. These adjustments are an admission of failure: over-promising, under-delivering and now lowering standards to conceal the failures," he said.
Theunissen lamented the fact residents pay more taxes and tariffs, while the metro cannot meet its original KPA targets, saying it is a clear sign of the coalition's poor governance.
"The so-called funded budget was an illusion with the downward adjustments serving as clear proof," he said.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance Eugene Modise, also deputy mayor, said the National Treasury has confirmed that Tshwane budget is credible and funded.
"This means our revenue projections are realistic, our expenditure framework is responsible, and our funding structure is sustainable" he said, adding that as of 31 December 2025, the city revenue collection is 83.5%.
"Strict expenditure controls resulted in spending R3,9 billion below budget, producing an accounting surplus of R4,3 billion. Importantly, this tighter control over operating expenditure did not come at the expense of infrastructure delivery," Modise said.
He highlighted that capital expenditure reached R1,1 billion, meaning 46% of the capital programme was implemented by mid-year.
"This credible performance unlocked an additional R34m in national funding support. Cash and investments stood at R2bn," he said.
The adjustments budget, Modise said, increases total operating revenue to R53,4bn and operating expenditure to R52,2bn, while strengthening capital investment by R309m.
"The backbone of this adjustment budget rests on two foundations: infrastructure credibility and financial stabilisation. At the centre of the infrastructure pillar is the additional R341m Urban Development Financing Grant allocation secured from National Treasury. This is not routine funding," he said.
He noted that debt impairment has increased by R534m, reflecting "a realistic assessment of the city’s debtor book and ensures that the balance sheet reflects collectable revenue rather than inflated projections".
Modise reiterated that the additional R341m unlocked from the National Treasury confirms that Tshwane’s recovery is credible and recognised.
"We remain financially constrained. But the direction towards financial recovery is firm and the progress is measurable," he said.