According to the report, “the number of invoices paid after 30 days by the national and provincial departments amounts to 117,158 invoices to the rand value of R11.1bn".
"This represents a regression of 12% when compared with the number of invoices paid after 30 days by the national and provincial departments during the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year which amounted to104,937 invoices to the Rand value of R 8.6bn," read the report in part.
"Gauteng contributed with the highest number of invoices paid after 30 days which amounted to 45,538 to the rand value of R3.5bn in the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. North West provincial departments reported the second highest invoices paid after 30 days, amounting to 12,988 invoices to the rand value of R880m during the same period."
The commission found that the department of health has consistently remained the department with the highest number of unpaid invoices.
"The most common reasons provided by both the national and provincial departments for the late and/or non-payment of invoices are interruptions caused by poor internal controls, internal capacity, and budget constraints," the report found.
Gxoyiya said: “The department of health is topping the list of the department that are in non-compliance. Health owes 690 invoices that amount to R40m...”
While the commission encourages the government to comply, some business owners have been waiting for payments for years.
They spoke of how they were struggling to keep their businesses afloat.
Bafana Ndendwa said in 2014 he constructed a road for the Msunduzi municipality in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, and has not been paid.
“I built a 5km road and at first I was told that the municipality cannot afford to pay me due to financial constraints,” he said.
Ndendwa said he has been fighting with subcontractors he never paid.
“Subcontractors did not believe me when I told them that the municipality is refusing to pay me but after they spoke with municipal officials that’s when things became better because they heard for themselves.”
He said his business suffered financially.
“At the time, I was working with more than 35 employees on the contract and the whole company had more than 75 employees, who lost their jobs in 2018 when I closed the construction company because I couldn’t work anymore.
“Life has been challenging as this was the source of income. I cannot afford to feed my family.”
Departments fail to pay service providers on time, owe R4.7bn
36,577 invoices older than 30 days still not paid by end of June
Image: GCIS
Provincial departments across the country owe R4.7bn to businesses as they failed to pay service providers within 30 days.
A report released by the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Tuesday shows that there were 36,577 invoices older than 30 days that were still not paid at the end of June.
The Eastern Cape is the biggest offender with provincial departments recording the highest number of invoices older than 30 days amounting to R2.3bn from 25,789 invoices.
The commission’s report looked into the first quarter (April to June) of the 2023/24 financial year, highlighting that only 15 out of 40 national departments fully complied with policy on timeous payments.
PSC commissioner Anele Gxoyiya said: “One of the reasons that these departments fail to pay service providers is corruption and sometimes the delay in verifying the invoice.
“We encourage the departments to pay the invoices on time to help these small businesses keep afloat, because the same departments are the ones that are quick to kick them [small business] when they sink into debt.”
Hospital ordered to settle R40m power bill
According to the report, “the number of invoices paid after 30 days by the national and provincial departments amounts to 117,158 invoices to the rand value of R11.1bn".
"This represents a regression of 12% when compared with the number of invoices paid after 30 days by the national and provincial departments during the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year which amounted to104,937 invoices to the Rand value of R 8.6bn," read the report in part.
"Gauteng contributed with the highest number of invoices paid after 30 days which amounted to 45,538 to the rand value of R3.5bn in the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. North West provincial departments reported the second highest invoices paid after 30 days, amounting to 12,988 invoices to the rand value of R880m during the same period."
The commission found that the department of health has consistently remained the department with the highest number of unpaid invoices.
"The most common reasons provided by both the national and provincial departments for the late and/or non-payment of invoices are interruptions caused by poor internal controls, internal capacity, and budget constraints," the report found.
Gxoyiya said: “The department of health is topping the list of the department that are in non-compliance. Health owes 690 invoices that amount to R40m...”
While the commission encourages the government to comply, some business owners have been waiting for payments for years.
They spoke of how they were struggling to keep their businesses afloat.
Bafana Ndendwa said in 2014 he constructed a road for the Msunduzi municipality in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, and has not been paid.
“I built a 5km road and at first I was told that the municipality cannot afford to pay me due to financial constraints,” he said.
Ndendwa said he has been fighting with subcontractors he never paid.
“Subcontractors did not believe me when I told them that the municipality is refusing to pay me but after they spoke with municipal officials that’s when things became better because they heard for themselves.”
He said his business suffered financially.
“At the time, I was working with more than 35 employees on the contract and the whole company had more than 75 employees, who lost their jobs in 2018 when I closed the construction company because I couldn’t work anymore.
“Life has been challenging as this was the source of income. I cannot afford to feed my family.”
Another businessman who spoke to Sowetan on condition of anonymity said he was promised payment after 11 years.
He said he built houses in Gauteng and has been taken from pillar to post by the departments of public works, human settlements and treasury. He said he was owed R15m.
“In 2020, I took them to court, little progress was seen, as today I received a call that I need to submit some documents.
“Life has been hard. I am unemployed now; the things that I used to do for my children, I can no longer do. Things such as taking them out because they passed some subjects well,” he said
Gxoyiya said: “We encourage service providers to approach us [PSC] whenever there is a challenge with their invoices.”
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