State departments owe municipalities a staggering R22 billion for services
Government departments and public entities owe municipalities a whopping R22 billion as of the end of December, 2023.
As of December 2023, government departments and public entities owe municipalities a significant R22 billion.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed that while responding to parliamentary questions from IFP MP Sbuyiselwe Angela Buthelezi.
BUTHELEZI RAISES CONCERNS: INQUIRIES SENT TO GODONGWANA REGARDING MUNICIPAL DEBT
According to Cape Time Newspaper Buthelezi wrote to Godongwana enquiring about the municipal debt that government departments owe.
In the letter, he requested an overview of the municipal debt of each government department, and how the National Treasury intends to address the debt issue.
In his written response, Godongwana stated that the high-level analysis of municipal debt for each government department, as per the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) S71 report for the period ending December 2023, reveals a total outstanding debt of R22.065 billion.
Cape Times reported that Godongwana said the national departments owe R8.015bn, provincial departments R9 756bn and public entities and institutions R4.294bn.
Godongwana’s response showed that the Department of Public Works owed R3.4 billion, followed by Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries R1.7 billion, Human Settlements R66 million, Rural Development and Land Reform R451 million and Arts and Culture R424 million.
Godongwana said the National Treasury has urged municipalities to enforce their credit control and debt management policies and by-laws.
MINISTER PATRICIA DE LILLE UPDATE ON MONEY OWED TO MUNICIPALITY IN 2022
According to the South African government, The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) consistently aims to keep its payments to municipalities, which provide services to government buildings, up to date.
Presently, concerning payments to municipalities for municipal services and property rates, the Department has received age analysis reports from 210 out of the 257 municipalities where services are rendered.
As of July 31, 2022, DPWI collaborated with municipalities, leading to verification and confirmation of an amount of R83,319,809 owed to municipalities for rendered municipal services and property rates.
The Department is currently awaiting invoices from municipalities, and payments will be processed promptly upon receipt of the invoices.