Business owners demanded that the City of Ekurhuleni pay up for services provided.
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Ekurhuleni MMC for finance, Nkululeko Dunga held a service provider imbizo on May 9 in the Germiston banquet hall at the OR Tambo Government Precinct.
The alleged R200m outstanding in payments owed to service providers by the city prompted this meeting.
Business owner, Thabile Tsotetsi, said they are tired of excuses and that the city needs to pay up.
“I am not happy with the outcome of the meeting,” said Tsotetsi. He last received payment in 2022.
“I have serviced the city for years and we never had such problems before, but the last three years have been bad. Payments are not consistent and it is affecting our businesses.
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“We cannot work for eight months with no payment. We have bills to pay and families to feed.
“It forces us to spend from our pocket to get jobs done and still have to wait a long time for payment,” said Tsotetsi.
Dunga acknowledged that non-payment of suppliers impacts service delivery and the value chain of businesses.
“During tough economic conditions, it is imperative that we, as a government, ensure that we do not contribute to the already struggling economy by withholding payments from our suppliers.
“Even more concerning is the fact that some of these suppliers are forced to turn to the courts to obtain court orders. And now the municipality’s assets are being attacked,” said Dunga.
He said the purpose of the imbizo was to offer business owners the opportunity to voice their frustration and find solutions in working with the city.
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The city’s group chief financial officer (CFO), Kagiso Lerutla, said the CoE is busy normalising payments for services it received.
He said 90% of the city’s budget is based on estimates.
“We base it on collection but with the weak economy, we are not collecting enough,” said Lerutla.
“We also have processes we follow before paying invoices. If service providers are not compliant, that can also affect payment.
“If businesses have such issues, we can advise what they need to do to get their invoices in order,” said Lerutla.
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Service providers voiced their frustrations about CoE’s demands for continued services, even though they have not been paid in months.
A couple of service providers said they serviced municipal vehicles due to emergencies. They claim they await payment because they do not have the orders.
The CFO advised service providers to always insist on an order before performing any service.
“No order, no service. Always insist on order and never work on a vehicle with no order. The order is there to protect you,” said Lerutla.
Another issue raised at the imbizo was tender processes and requirements and feedback when the service provider did not qualify for the tender.
Service providers felt some requirements are unreasonable.
“You have the right to challenge the specs of the tender. A service provider can challenge by motivating reasons the specs should change.
“If it is an open tender and a service provider feels something must change, you must submit it before the tender closes,” said Lerutla.
A service provider servicing the city for more than 10 years said the non-payment situation has affected his business.
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Civil engineering consultant Zuzeka Mtotywa said the imbizo was insightful as it detailed challenges they experienced.
“The non-payment is affecting us and it has been going on for the past three years. Payments used to be on time and it was easy to deliver services as businesses.
“We hope this imbizo is the start of helping us as businesses and attend to the problems we are having,” said Mtotywa.
The resolution of the day was for all the businesses that attended the meeting to register their invoices that have not been paid after the imbizo for the CFO’s office to follow up on payments.
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