On the 25th of May, Nyanga’s branch committee got a much-needed session on budget training by IY Financial Assistant, Asanda Nanise. IY has a democratic system of governance starting at branch level, where key decisions are made by learners, volunteers and staff members together. Asanda took the group through the branch’s budget, explaining how the budgets are drawn up each year, and then moving on to the different portfolios and the amounts available to them for the year and how much they have used so far.
Branch com members had many questions, ranging from how figures were arrived at for each item, and whether there was space to start new projects at the branch, in light of fixed amounts for the different expenses. Asanda was up to the task and responded to each question, with the help of branch staff, Shuvai and Siphelele.
At the end of the session, Asanda encouraged the branch committee to find cost-effective ways of running programs, for example fund raising for projects and opting for free options for service provision, where available. This year, Nyanga branch is looking forward to a more collaborative branch com effort in structuring next year’s budget and deciding on the branch’s financial future.
A very special thank you to Asanda Nanise for preparing a very sound and yet easy-to-understand workshop on Nyanga finances.
Lloyd Lungu