The FF Plus in North West has sent an official letter to the Premier, Job Mokgoro, requesting that the amount owed by provincial government departments to municipalities in the province must be calculated and that the settlement of the debt must be treated as a top priority.
It is no secret that municipalities across the province are experiencing serious cash-flow problems. These bring about frequent interruptions in essential service delivery, like power supply, because municipalities struggle to keep up with making payments to their service providers, like Eskom.
The reasons for municipalities’ financial problems are infinite and range from mismanagement and corruption to the ineffective collection of fees for services and rent. Provincial government departments are also guilty of frequently failing to pay their municipal accounts on time.
Being large consumers, the provincial government departments are contributing directly to the cash-flow crisis and the collapse of service delivery at various municipalities. In some cases, the outstanding debt already amounts to several millions of rand. The non-payment in conjunction with the drastic decrease in revenue from the private sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic pose a real threat to the sustainability of municipalities in the North West.
The FF Plus is, therefore, calling on the provincial government to lead from the front in this time of crisis and set an example for all consumers of municipal services by settling their municipal accounts in full and on time.
Without these vital funds, municipalities in the North West run the risk of deteriorating even further and leaving many communities in the province destitute.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Erns Kleynhans on FF Plus
South Africa Today – South Africa News
