7 eThekwini councillors charged for failing to pay rates

Seven eThekwini Municipality councillors have been charged for defaulting on their municipal accounts, Berea Mail reports.

Sipho Hlomuka, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) welcomed steps taken by the eThekwini Metro in holding to account councillors who have defaulted on their payments for rates services.

“The consumer debt stands at over R20-billion in the province and it cannot be right that we have councillors or officials as perpetrators of this deliberate behaviour which compromises service delivery even for those who pay for the services. We expect all leaders to lead by example,” said Hlomuka.

In the city’s budget report, which was released last month, it was revealed that eThekwini employees, including councillors owed the municipality over R31 million in rate services.

Hlomuka said the seven councillors come from different parties in the eThekwini Metro and were charged by the Council’s Ethics Committee for defaulting on their municipal accounts in line with the Municipal Systems and Structures Act.

Hlomuka said that the department will continue to work with the municipalities to ensure that all officials and councillors lead by example and are held accountable for their actions.

At the same time, Hlomuka is also calling on all municipalities to take steps to hold to account all the councillors who are delaying the delivery of services to the communities.

“All municipalities must ensure that the councillors who do not pay for electricity and water are punished because, as elected representatives, they should take a lead in mobilising their communities to support the Masakhane campaign which seeks to encourage all citizens to pay for services,” he said.