Easily referred to as, the ‘backbone’ of any municipality, Budget and Treasury Office ensures efficient and effective financial operations. As the advisor on financial management issues in Intsika Yethu Municipality, the department is responsible for fiscal discipline, enhancing the quality of expenditure, allocating financial resources and improving overall financial governance within the locality.
The department also plays a key role in promoting shared growth and development in the district and works towards achieving socio-economic equity through more responsive budgeting processes, encouraging value for money spending and protects and promotes effective utilisation of the municipality’s assets.
Objectives are to:
- Turning around the financial viability of the district management
- Building asset management capacity of the district
- Achieving a clean audit report
- Ensure long-term financial sustainability;
- Promote good financial management practice;
- Provide financial advice to council;
- Ensure full compliance with all accounting statutory and legal requirements including implementation of the MFMA;
- Implement revenue generating strategies;
- Ubuntu
- Service Delivery
- Professionalism
Duties of the Budget and Treasury Office
The Budget and Treasury Office (BTO) is the anchor office of the Municipality as it provides support to all departments of the Municipality.
The primary role is dealing with the management of a municipal’s funds and ensures financial sustainability for the institution.
For any plan to be implemented there is a need for cash, as actions won’t materialize without cash injections i.e. consider the concept of fuel for vehicle fleet, you may have the best car designs with the most sophisticated engines, but for anyone of the these vehicles to move you need fuel.
Hence the fleet won’t be able to serve it’s purpose without a drop of fuel.
Hence similar to the Municipality scenario where you may have hired the best personnel, with state of the art working tools (which in turn need cash to be acquired). In turn the highly skilled personnel will have to be paid.
It is clear that the Municipality cannot operate without cash, which has to be made available to all departments and its controlled by BTO in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003.
The BTO provides support through the following units, Budgeting, Revenue, Supply Chain Management and Expenditure
Proper management of finances
Providing timely accurate financial reports
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The unit prepares strategic, credible and sustainable budget as required by the legislation.
- It monitors operational activities, indicates on a monthly basis any deviations from the original budget plans to enable departments to take corrective action timeously.
- The Unit also controls expenditure by highlighting exhausted budgeting items to assist management in deciding on how to deal with the underlying expenditure in question.
- The Budgeting Process synchronises departmental plans (as set out in the IDP) to operational activities, which are further broken down into time frames through the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan.
This unit deals with the inflow of income into the Municipality, be it statutory or non – statutory. It ensures correct management of cash received and that all funds received are accounted for in a correct prescribed manner;
- It also ensures that consumer data is accurate in order to bill correctly, thereby improving cash collections and reducing outstanding debts
This Unit deals with the fulfilment of demands of all departments on all goods and services required to fulfil each departmental to enhance service delivery as set out in the IDP.
It ensures that those products and services are made available timeously.
This Unit ensures that funds of the Municipality are spent in terms of an approved budget and sets up controls to minimize misuse of funds through fraud and corruption and it ensures that the municipality is financially viable
This unit produce and maintain an accurate asset register and to ensure that council’s assets and liabilities are effectively managed.
At every financial year BTO department prepares Annual Financial Statements which are audited by Auditor General.