DLAMINI-ZUMA: RATEPAYERS OWE MUNICIPALITIES R120BN

Addressing the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday, she said the culture of nonpayment has contributed to fiscal leakages from cash-strapped municipalities.

Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma briefs the nation on regulations under lockdown level 1, which comes into effect at midnight, on Sunday 20 September 2020., Picture: GCIS

Lindsay  Dentlinger | 30 August 2022 16:26

CAPE TOWN - Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said ratepayers owe municipalities R120 billion for services.

Addressing the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday, she said the culture of nonpayment has contributed to fiscal leakages from cash-strapped municipalities.

The house had been discussing how to minimise fiscal leakage, and its impact on the economy.

Dlamini-Zuma said the number of stable municipalities has increased marginally over the last year, from 16 to 30, with most improvements in KwaZulu-Natal.

But two years of a pandemic, and natural disasters, have contributed to fiscal leakage within already struggling municipalities. “Instead of it addressing what it was planned for, it now has to address the results of the disasters,” Dlamini-Zuma said.

The minister said the most affected municipalities were those in rural areas, because they lacked the right technical capacity to collect revenue.

“A big part of these leakages is the culture of non-payment, which has seen ratepayers owing municipalities over R120 billion, of which the billing inaccuracies are also a major contributor,” she added.

While the Free State has seen some improvement in municipalities from dysfunctional to medium risk category, there has been little to no change in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.