KwaDukuza councillors under fire for outstanding municipal debt repayments
Opposition parties claimed the majority of the debt was owed by a single councillor.
KwaDukuza councillors are collectively R640 000 in arrears of debt repayment to the municipality.
The number was revealed as part KwaDukuza municipality’s (KDM) internal audit committee report to council last year.
It drew criticism from both the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA, who said they believed the majority of the debt was owed by a single councillor. This could not be confirmed by the Courier.
“It is noted with concern that there were arrears on councillors’ accounts amounting to R639 694. The matter must be addressed urgently to recover the monies owing,” read the report.
“Further, this negates the municipality’s efforts of recovering monies owed by ordinary consumer debtors and may lead to an unfavourable public perception that the credit management policy does not apply to the leadership.”
KwaDukuza DA caucus leader Tammy Colley said the debt had increased since she last raised the issue in January last year.
“It cannot be correct that regular ratepayers get their services cut, but a sitting councillor can continue getting money from the public purse,” she said.
ActionSA caucus leader Nel Sewraj echoed the sentiment.
“The code of conduct for councillors is clear, councillors should never use their positions for personal gain or improper benefits,” he said. “Councillors cannot default on their municipal accounts for more than three months, just like all other residents. There’s no special treatment for councillors.”
Colley asked Dr Joey Krishnan of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) – who was in council for a separate matter – what recourse they had to solve the issue.
“We have to determine firstly whether a councillor has fully complied with the credit control policy. We can then undertake a full reconciliation of the account,” said Krishnan.
Krishnan said she believed one account was currently being disputed and awaiting resolution.
“If the councillor fails to respect that then the code of conduct must be implemented.”
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