A cleanliness and beautification action plan, including better management of hawkers in the federal capital, will be completed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall in the next three months.
The three-month deadline is in line with the time frame set by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim following his meeting with the council’s top management, including mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah on Dec 22.
Mahadi said this when unveiling City Hall’s RM2.604 billion 2023 Budget at its headquarters in Menara DBKL 1 in Jalan Raja Laut, today.
“The budget today took into account the ideas and suggestions by the prime minister. He had asked us to look into two main aspects – cleanliness and beautification, and the management of hawkers and petty traders in the city,” said Mahadi.
“These are special assignments and the plan will serve as a blueprint for the city in the coming years,” he said.
Mahadi added that the cleanliness and beautification action plan will focus on attraction sites as well as the rejuvenation of dilapidated areas in the city.
“The areas include Jalan Pasar to Jalan Petaling, leading to Merdeka 118. We have also started work in Jalan Gading that connects Jalan Imbi and Bukit Bintang, leading to the Tun Razak Exchange, with a 4ha public park nearby.”
“As Kuala Lumpur is best explored on foot, we will be embarking on a tree planting exercise, as well as building larger pavements in these areas. We also want to create new public spaces in downtown Kuala Lumpur. We will be using allocations in Budget 2023 for this purpose.”
Mahadi revealed that a total of RM54.3 million has been allocated for the management of hawkers and petty traders. Of that, RM23.8 million has been set aside for management, and the remaining RM30.5 million, for development.
Earlier, Mahadi said the RM2.604 billion budget for 2023 comprised RM1.96 billion for operating expenses, while the balance of RM643.7 million was for development.
The allocation for operating expenses included services and supplies (RM1.27 billion), overtime payments (RM64.6 million), salaries, wages and employee benefits (RM497.7 million), handouts and fixed payments (RM99.2 million) and other expenditure (RM21.7 million).
The funds for development comprise a RM540.7 million allocation from City Hall, while the remaining RM103 million will come from the government and other sources.
He said City Hall is expected to generate RM2.082 billion in revenue in 2023, a drop of 9.4 per cent compared to 2022’s RM2.298 billion.
He cited construction and planning control as the contributors to the decline in revenue but said the council’s main revenue this year will be derived from assessment collection, projected at RM1.370 billion, an increase of RM10 million compared to 2022.
A total of RM266.4 million has been allocated for road management, including road building and widening works in Jalan Loke Yew and Jalan Sungai Besi, Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar, Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Tun Ismail, and Jalan Ipoh. A total of RM57.3 million has also been set aside for road resurfacing works in the city.
Among other allocations include RM95.524 million for the greening and maintenance of parks and open areas, RM34.9 million for enforcement, RM188.6 million for repairs and maintenance of the People’s Housing and Public Housing schemes, RM67.8 million for drainage and flood mitigation, and RM77.8 million for community wellbeing.
The council has also set aside RM2 million from its operating budget and RM5 million from its development budget to set up a “climate fund” for climate mitigation and adaptation programmes.
Meanwhile, a total of RM48 million has been set aside for the council’s carbon neutral target.
