WESTERN CAPE MEC for local government Willem Doman on Sunday said the arrears in service payments to municipalities has to be addressed.
He said statistics recently released by the Minister of Local Government Sydney Mufamadi showed the arrears in service payments to municipalities had reached R22-billion, a substantial increase from previous statistics.
”Responsible government, including local government, means control and sound management of budgets,” he said in a statement.
”With non-payment of services escalating due to people unable to pay for services and others still steadfastly refusing, the burden will become unbearable for local governments to perform their basic tasks and duties.”
To address the problem of non-payment for services the Western Cape Department of Local Government had set up a Management Support Programme to financially assist municipalities implement projects that improve their service delivery capacity and therefore their cash flow situation.
It would also assist a number of municipalities with implementing financial systems to improve debtor and payment systems, Doman said. ? Sapa