KZN government departments and Ithala owe almost R1 billion in rates and services
20 January 2022
A recent eThekwini Executive Council meeting has revealed that provincial government Departments and their entities owe the city almost R1 billion in rates and services.
The shocking figure was disclosed earlier this week when the mid-year budget and performance assessment was tabled at EXCO.
By far, the biggest transgressor is KZN’s Department of Education (DoE) with more than R330 million outstanding. This Department is followed by KZN Public Works – a habitual offender – at R164 million. Other major contributors to the staggering debt are the province’s Departments of Health and Human Settlements.(view here)
Alarmingly, Ithala Development Bank is also on the list for outstanding monies owed to the city, amounting to almost R6 million. This outstanding debt is for commercial properties owned by the bank, which are leased out to commercial and industrial tenants. (view here)