Gauteng’s MEC of infrastructure development Jacob Mamabolo has established a specialised team to deal with delays in the payment of service providers and suppliers in the department.

The rule in all Gauteng provincial departments is that service providers should be paid within 30 days of submission of a valid invoice.

Mamabolo had a meeting with service providers on Tuesday and committed himself to establishing a dedicated email address where service providers will be able interact directly with him on issues related to late payment.

“We are making Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development the place to do business. We are also tightening internal processes to ensure our officials do not sit with unpaid invoices‚ resulting in our service providers’ businesses suffering‚” he said.

He added that the department was in the process of issuing a circular to all staff who deal with invoices to release them in time “or face disciplinary action“.