COGTA Minister wants municipalities to cough up for swelling water bill

CAPE TOWN - Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says the non-payment by municipalities to water boards is a vicious cycle.

Government departments, national and provincial now owe municipalities more than R29 billion in unpaid bills. 

Answering questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, Hlabisa said unless indigent, consumers and businesses must pay for the services they receive from local authorities. 

He said municipalities can't be expected to pay Eskom and water boards if government departments themselves are not paying up. 

Hlabisa said municipalities must complete their indigent registers to determine who can pay for their services. 

READ: Joburg's water issues 'self-inflicted' - Majodina

He said the water department is also working with The Treasury to determine a debt write-off mechanism for historical debt. 

Water losses in the system are adding to municipalities' inability to pay their debt. 

"There will be a heightened focus on enhancing infrastructure and prioritising repairs and maintenance. Several water services authorities have been granted permission to allocate up to 10% of their municipal infrastructure grant funds towards repairs and refurbishment," said Hlabisa.

Hlabisa said he's written to all departments who owe water boards to settle their debts by the end of December, failing which treasury will be asked to redirect money from their allocations to the owed municipalities.