City of Ekurhuleni councillors to debate metro’s financial woes
DA chief whip in council Michael Waters said while the financial situation crumbles, the communities of Ekurhuleni are suffering due to dwindling service delivery.

Kwatsaduza – With the City of Ekurhuleni reportedly surviving hand-to-mouth, councillors will on October 17 debate the city’s finances.
The council on last Thursday failed to debate the motion tabled by the DA during the ordinary council meeting.
Pressure from the DA and ANC with other smaller parties forced the speaker of the council, Nthabiseng Tshivenga, to call a special council meeting.
The ANC on October 9 submitted a request to the speaker to convene a special sitting on October 13, but they turned it down because there were two other standing committees scheduled on the day.
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In a statement released by the DA, they said while they welcome the speaker’s response that they believe that given the continuing deterioration of the city finances, this meeting cannot come too soon.
The chief whip of the council, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, on September 28 during a media briefing shared the party’s concerns about the revenue collection, which has since deteriorated.
DA chief whip in council Michael Waters said while the financial situation crumbles, the communities of Ekurhuleni are suffering due to dwindling service delivery.
“The DA is particularly concerned about the city’s financial liquidity and ability to pay its creditors.
“At the end of June 2023, the draft annual financial statement reported the city’s cash flow at R438m. This represents less than 0,13 days of cash on hand.
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“The city is currently sitting with just over R3b in outstanding payments owed to creditors, of which R254m owed to Eskom, R174m to Rand Water, R117m to the city’s own entity, ERWAT, and R2.5b owed to other outsourced contractors,” he said.
Waters added the outstanding payments are putting a considerable strain on the city’s ability to function and are now affecting service delivery, with infrastructure failure and lack of maintenance becoming the order of the day.
The DA calls on the EFF-appointed MMC for Finance Nkululeko Dunga to present a turnaround strategy in the council when they hear the DA’s urgent motion.
They must develop and implement sustainable long-term financial strategies with sound budgetary practices, strict expenditure, credit control, and financial discipline.