The City of Tshwane will be ”tightening its belt” to counter its cash flow problems, mayor Gwen Ramokgopa said on Thursday.
Briefing the media in Pretoria, Ramokgopa refuted claims that the city was facing a financial crisis. However, the city was embarking on a cost-cutting exercise.
”We are under pressure but there is no financial crisis,” she said.
The city has recently been forced to take out an overdraft of R1,2-billion after it was unable to pay Eskom, Rand Water and others about R700-million for services rendered.
She, however, gave an assurance to the public that municipal services would not be affected.
”A situation will not arise where we cannot make good to our bulk suppliers,” said Ramokgopa.
Ramokgopa also said the media had been harsh in its reporting of the city’s financial situation.
”The City of Tshwane instead of being complimented for dealing with the issue of revenue challenges has been really harshly dealt with.
”All of us are in a recession, [about] that we were upfront … We believe that the city should be complimented.”
Ramokgopa said none of the city’s core projects — such as road infrastructure development, preparations for the World Cup in 2010 and the formalising of informal settlements — would go ahead.
Responding to a question on why the city had hosted a R2,5-million diplomatic reception last week in light of the money problems, Ramokgopa said the city, as the capital, had obligations to continue to market Pretoria and attract investment. — Sapa