Emfuleni councillors owe the municipality R370K in unpaid rates, taxes

An Emfuleni local municipality councillor has raked up about R133,000 in unpaid rates and taxes in just a year.

This is according to the MMC for finance Hassan Mako who said the councillor from ACDP and nine others owed the municipality R370,000 from June last year to June 2024.

He said the councillors who owe are five from the DA, three from the EFF, one from the ANC and the ACDP.

"We don't know why they are not paying but they can't apportion the blame to the issue of the municipalities' delayed salary payment. They can't blame the municipality, this is deliberate," Mako said.

Emfuleni is one of the poorly run municipalities in Gauteng and has been struggling to collect revenue from customers. The municipality had also been indebted to both Eskom and Rand Water.

Last month, Eskom attached the municipality’s four bank accounts to ensure it pays R8bn owed to the power utility.

"The issue of the municipality not paying salaries has not happened often, it is only accounts that are attached. This year, the account was attached once and the salaries were delayed for only seven days. We have not gone months without paying employees salaries," Mako said.  

In a written reply to questions posed by the DA in the legislature, Gauteng MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Jacob Mamabolo revealed that as of August 31, Emfuleni employees, councillors and the provincial government departments owed more than R365m in unpaid rates and taxes.

He said Emfuleni municipality employees owed more than R4,4m while councillors owed R1,7m.  Government departments owed the council R361m as of August 31.

Mako said the "most critical" department owed the municipality was the health department which has not paid R150m.  

"We have exhausted all processes as far as I am concerned and the last option for us which I have issued an instruction is for us to attach the accounts of the department of health. They have been owing us for almost seven years," he said.

He also said fee-paying schools owe the municipality R16m.

"What we have been doing is to disconnect [services] and they have been coming to make arrangements."

In a statement, the DA's Emfuleni North Constituency head Kingsol Chabalala said it was unacceptable that employees at the municipality were violating the Municipal Structures Act which states that "a staff member of a municipality may not be in arrears to the municipality for rates and services for more than three months".

He accused the employees of contributing to the collapse of the municipality.

"Furthermore, Gauteng government departments' failure to set a good example by ensuring their accounts with the Emfuleni municipality are in good standing reflects poorly on their internal credit control and leadership. The DA demands that MEC Mamabolo intervene to ensure that government departments [that] owe the ELM pay immediately.

"This money will go a long way in helping Emfuleni municipality deliver services and pay its debt to Eskom, Rand Water, and other debtors. The municipality cannot be held at ransom by delinquent employees and government departments who are fully aware of its financial woes."

chabalalalaj@sowetan.co.za 

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