The National Treasury says municipal debt owed by households, commercial entities as well as state organs has escalated to R128 billion.
Expressing her concern about the situation, Deputy Director-General for Intergovernmental Relations at National Treasury, Malijeng Ngqaleni said this is exacerbated by the culture on non-payment.
Malijeng Ngqaleni says municipalities, in return, owe creditors such as Eskom and bulk water suppliers over R43 billion.
Ngqaleni was briefing the Select and Standing Committees on Appropriations on the 2017 Division of Revenue Amendment Bill.
“On the one hand there is a strong echo that says there’s a problem because they don’t have a revenue base. So if you double their equitable share you’ll get the problem off. There’s on the other hand where we say the problem is much deeper than that. Three’s maladministration, malfunction and operational inefficiencies that even if you throw money if you don’t address those issues, that you will not be able to find,” says Ngqaleni.
