Gauteng municipalities owed R622 million by ANC Provincial Government

The Gauteng Provincial Government is hampering service delivery in the province’s municipalities as it currently owes a collective amount of R622 105 203,30 to local governments.

Home to the most affected residents, embattled DA-led local municipalities are hardest hit by the provincial government’s failure to pay back money it owes.

ANC-run Emfuleni, Merafong City and Rand West City owe millions of rands to both Eskom and Rand Water. Emfuleni is already experiencing a decrease in water pressure as Rand Water has restricted flow due to the large debt the municipality is battling to service.

Gauteng MEC for Finance, Barbra Creecy, along with the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Paul Mashatile, have done very little to turn the fortunes of these local municipalities around and assist them with servicing the debts they owe.

These local municipalities should have been placed under section 139 administration to ensure that residents do not continue to suffer under ANC mismanagement.

Both MECs refuse to take this step because of the embarrassment it will cause to the ANC in the province, as it tries to give the impression that it has a good story to tell.

If Creecy and Mashatile cared as much for the residents of these municipalities as they did for the image of the ANC, they would take decisive action and ensure that monies owed were paid timeously, to ensure service delivery does not grind to a halt and that basic constitutional rights of residents are not threatened.

The DA will write to MEC Creecy to ensure that these monies are paid as soon as possible because the effects of non-payment will be detrimental to the well-being of residents.