Ekurhuleni’s debt to service providers increases to R13 billion

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says the City of Ekurhuleni‘s debt to service providers has ballooned from R6 billion to R13 billion in just a month, resulting in projects grinding to a halt.

The DA’s Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), Mike Waters, says companies rendering services to the city are struggling to sustain their businesses and pay their employees due to the municipality’s failure to pay them within the stipulated time.

Waters says the party will engage the Co-operative Governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo.

“This is not a bookkeeping error, this is a direct violation of the Municipal Finances Management Act, which requires municipalities to pay service providers within 30 days.”

He says, “By failing to do so, Ekurhuleni is breaking the law, crippling small businesses and sabotaging service delivery across the city. Contractors who’re not paid cannot pay their workers and have to lay people off. Projects grind to a halt and communities are left without services that they depend on.”