Monies owed to North West municipalities reason behind poor service delivery

According to a local government association, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), government departments owe municipalities across the country over R290 billion.

The association’s president, Bheki Stofile says they want this to be urgently addressed. He says the huge debt is contributing to municipalities’ inability to provide basic services such as water and sanitation.

Members of the @SALGA_Gov NEC are now holding discussions on service delivery challenges in the North West. These include barriers to revenue collection, unfunded budgets, an increase in indigent households, and reliable municipal services as enablers of economic activity. pic.twitter.com/6exP2VQHPx

— SALGA (@SALGA_Gov) March 14, 2023

Stofile says, “Two hundred and ninety billion (rand) over is owed to municipalities by government, business and households. Now what we have done is that look it is important for us to work in a manner in which it addresses challenges in the municipal system and in government in terms of paying what is due to Eskom and government and business and communities to pay what is due to municipalities.”

Meanwhile, the North West Co-operative Governance MEC Nono Maloyi says some municipalities have started sending invoices to the defaulting departments.

“We are also interacting with other municipalities to make sure you submit.  The Department of Finance is working with public works and so on they are verifying those bills and everybody. Every department that is owing these municipalities is going to pay in order for municipalities to pay Eskom but not only Eskom including water Boards.” adds Maloyi.