Municipal officials who illegally reconnect electricity to disconnected homes will be dealt with.
The warning from Enoch Mgijima mayor Sisisi Tolashe comes amid claims that technical services officials have been charging R1,000 to reconnect defaulters.
“The municipality is following up on these leads and will deal decisively with such officials,” said Tolashe’s spokesperson Butsha Lali.
He said these officials were working against the municipality’s revenue enhancement drive.
The local authority is owed millions of rands by ratepayers and government departments.
Schools in the area collectively owe the municipality R1.9m, the department of health owes R500,000 for its clinics, and Frontier Hospital owed R3.3m.
It was further revealed that the department of public works owes R2.5m, the department of agriculture R199,492, social development R221,087, Komani Hospital owes R3.9m and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation R110,916.
“Seven municipal vehicles have been dedicated to the revenue collection process, particularly for disconnections of illegal connections, electricity theft and defaulters,” Lali said.
“During this process, municipal services accounts statements were issued to all sector departments with an ultimatum of seven days and to proceed with disconnections without further notice if no payment is received or no payment arrangements are made. This exercise has seen some of government departments coming forward to pay or make arrangements to settle the outstanding debts owed to the municipality.”
Lali said a service provider, Revco Pty Ltd, was contracted to assist the municipality with debt collection and the full debtors book has been handed over to the company to follow up on all debts older than 90 days in arrears.
Lali said there have been complaints of services not being rendered because of grants that had been withheld by treasury. Since the end of October, the municipality has received the following funding: R54m equitable share;
R2.9m for expanded public works programme (EPWP);
R4m for Integrated National Electrification Programme (Inep); and
R5.2m for library services. Lali said they project that the municipality would have spent 27% of its municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) by end of December. This is far less than the 40% stipulated in terms of the Division of Revenue Act.
“It is worth noting in this aspect that had the MIG not been withheld for so many months with no written explanation on the reasons thereof, and without the nationally imposed cost reimbursement model to the municipality, the MIG expenditure would be more than the projected 27% for the end of December 2018.
“An argument needs to be made therefore that the penalties that would ordinarily be imposed on a municipality that would have spent less than 40% by the end of December should not be applied to the Enoch Mgijima local municipality,” he said...