R24 billion owed to Gauteng municipalities and no end in sight, says DA

Mike Moriarty, Gauteng Democratic Alliance (DA) Spokesperson on Finance , said that according to the Provincial Gazette Extraordinary (number 77) of 14 May 2010, R24 billion was owed to Gauteng's municipalities. He said the three worst cases were Johannesburg with R8,4bn in unpaid accounts , Ekurhuleni with R7,6bn in unpaid accounts and Tshwane with R3,6bn in unpaid accounts.

Moriarty said, "what is shocking is the amount of old debt. Any businessman will tell you that if you want to get your invoices paid then you must not allow the arrears to grow and debts to get old. But in Gauteng, 79% of the outstanding money is for bills that have not been paid in over 3 months. In this regard, the percentages of unpaid bills older than 3 months are as follows: Nokeng Tsa Taemane 92% , Emfuleni 90% , Kungwini 88%, Randfontein 85%  and Ekurhuleni 82% . "

Moriarty went on to say that "there is clearly a lack of political will to apply credit control, and while this is so, there will be no end in sight to the culture of non-payment. The DA believes there will also be an increasing prevalence in terms of inadequate service delivery as municipalities find it more and more difficult to pay for resources."

Statement issued by Mike Moriarty, MPL, Gauteng Democratic Alliance spokesperson on finance, June 22 2010

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter