JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The Gauteng government currently owes service providers a staggering R7.5 billion in unpaid invoices, a mounting debt crisis that is pushing small businesses to the brink and prompting urgent demands for systemic accountability and reform.
Heartbreaking stories of financial ruin emerged at an unpaid service providers imbizo held recently at the Johannesburg City Hall. Business owners revealed that some of their outstanding invoices date back as far as 2014. The prolonged non-payment has led to deteriorating health, lost homes, and a severe decline in the overall quality of life for affected business leaders. One distressed business owner highlighted the hostility faced when seeking answers, recounting fruitless hours spent visiting departments, being stopped by security at the office of Gauteng MEC for Finance Nkululeko Dunga, and facing threats and backup security calls when attempting to engage with the Department of Education.
Addressing the crisis, MEC Nkululeko Dunga confirmed that as of 31 May 2026, accruals and payables not yet paid across the provincial government stood at R7.5 billion. The Department of Health alone accounts for R3.6 billion of this amount, while the Department of Education accounts for R1.4 billion. Dunga pointed to severe weaknesses in internal systems, revealing that 14 departments and three public entities were found to be issuing purchase orders manually and after the invoice date during the period under review. He described this as poor discipline in how orders are placed, tracked, and reconciled, citing it as a primary cause of the frustrating payment delays.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi apologized to the inconvenienced service providers, firmly dispelling the myth that the crisis is a shortage of funds. Lesufi emphasized that the issue stems from “human behavior” and “human conduct,” noting that if it were a money problem, the government would not be returning unspent funds to the national treasury. To combat this, Lesufi announced the rollout of an “e-tender” system, a modernization initiative first introduced in his State of the Province Address. This digital tendering system aims to eliminate human influence, ensuring the transparent selection and appointment of the best service providers for the province.
To provide immediate relief, MEC Dunga affirmed that the government is taking responsibility for these historic wrongs and will implement corrective measures. A key strategy includes the ring-fencing of departmental budgets to guarantee that funds are sustained specifically for the payment of already rendered services and supplied goods.
The urgency of the situation was further underscored last week when the Public Service Commission published its pulse bulletin, revealing that the government is sitting on a R15.5 billion pile of unpaid supplier invoices, with provincial health departments accounting for 98% of that debt. The commission warned that the systemic failure to pay suppliers within the legally required 30 days is pushing small businesses to the absolute brink of collapse.
