The Budget & Treasury Office, led by Chief Financial Officer Mr Ncedile Zengethwa, serves as the financial backbone of the Amathole District Municipality (ADM), ensuring efficient and effective financial operations. Operating from the head office in East London, the department drives fiscal discipline, enhances expenditure quality, allocates financial resources, and strengthens financial governance across the district. Committed to promoting shared growth and socio-economic equity, it fosters responsive budgeting, value-for-money spending, and the protection of municipal assets, aligning with ADM’s mission to achieve sustainable development and community welfare.
The department operates under key legislation, including the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), the Constitution of South Africa, and the Municipal Asset Transfer Regulations, among others. Its primary objectives include turning around the district’s financial viability, building asset management capacity, achieving clean audit reports, ensuring long-term financial sustainability, promoting good financial practices, providing financial advice to the council, ensuring compliance with accounting and legal requirements, and implementing revenue-generating strategies.
The Budget & Treasury Office is structured into two sub-directorates: Financial Management and Supply Chain and Asset Management, each overseen by Senior Managers to deliver high-quality financial services.
The Financial Management Division comprises two units. The Revenue Management Unit ensures accurate and timely billing for all billable consumers, maintains the integrity of the billing master file, enforces credit control, registers indigent consumers for subsidies, and manages cash reconciliation in compliance with MFMA Circular 50 of 2009. The Budgeting Unit, managed by Senior Manager Ms. Sharon Kalis, coordinates budgeting and expenditure control, supports departments with budget formulation, facilitates budget adjustments, and ensures compliance with the Division of Revenue Act and Treasury regulations. It prepares the Annual Budget (Schedule A), Adjustment Budget (Schedule B), monthly reports (Schedule C), Section 71 and 72 reports, and VAT returns, while monitoring budget implementation and externally and internally funded projects.
The Supply Chain and Asset Management Sub-Directorate encompasses the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Unit and the Asset Management Unit. The SCM Unit, guided by the MFMA and the Constitution, implements a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective SCM policy. It manages demand, acquisition, logistics, risk, supplier performance, and contracts, ensuring timely delivery of resources, compliance with procurement processes, and effective contract management, including dispute resolution and performance monitoring. Key initiatives include service provider development, contractor development, speedy contract awards, and reduced SCM deviations. The Asset Management Unit, led by Senior Manager Ms. Sibongile Mkhohlakali, oversees the acquisition, safeguarding, and maintenance of municipal assets in compliance with MFMA Sections 14 and 63 and GRAP standards. It develops and implements the Asset Management Strategy, maintains the asset register, and ensures assets are classified correctly (e.g., PPE, investment property, intangible assets) while facilitating asset management and maintenance plans.
The Budget & Treasury Office collaborates with all ADM departments to align financial strategies with service delivery goals and engages external stakeholders such as National Treasury, SARS, and the Auditor General to ensure compliance and transparency. Through its flagship projects, including contractor development and performance monitoring, the department drives financial sustainability and accountability, reinforcing ADM’s commitment to effective governance and community-focused development.