Gauteng premier David Makhura expressed concern about the tone of Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba on the \u2018non-payment\u2019 of rates and services.<\/p>\n
On Monday Mashaba said that Gauteng owes the City of Joburg R259 million in unpaid rates and has 30 days to hand over the money.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing an investigation I can reveal that Gauteng government departments owe the City of Joburg R259 million in outstanding rates,\u201d Mashaba said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Mashaba, a Democratic Alliance member, took over the mayoral post after the African National Congress lost the city in the local elections in August.<\/p>\n
The new mayor said he would write to Makhura, giving his government 30 days to either pay the R259 million or enter into an acceptable repayment agreement with the City, \u201cas any other defaulting resident is expected to do\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailure to do so will result in the City taking immediate action \u2013 where possible \u2013 cutting services to defaulting departments,\u201d said Mashaba. \u201cWe urge the defaulting departments to urgently comply within this time frame so that such action will not be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read: Gauteng government given 30 days to pay back R259 million<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Makhura responded with a statement of his own. “The premier has also expressed concern about the tone of Cllr Mashaba\u2019s statement and its implications for the Constitutional imperative of cooperative governance.”<\/p>\n “There are a number of areas where the province works with municipalities through joint committees such as health, housing, and budgets just to mention a few,” the statement said.<\/p>\n “The fact that there are new mayors who have not taken time to familiarise themselves with our work does not mean issues raised have not been dealt with,” Makhura noted.<\/p>\n The Gauteng Provincial Government said the current administration made a commitment as far back as 2014 to ensure challenges relating to billing and unpaid municipal rates are addressed.<\/p>\n According to the latest quarterly report on Municipal Financial Performance published in the Government Gazette no 266 published on 11 August 2016, the City of Johannesburg is owed R16,101,787 billion by government, residents, and business.<\/p>\n The R16.1 billion debt is divided as follows:<\/p>\n As at June 2016, the Gauteng Provincial Government owed R242.5 million, which is 1.5% of the R16.1 billion in rates and services.<\/p>\n “We are committed to pay undisputed invoices. Our commitment is demonstrated in the amounts that the Gauteng Government has paid to various municipalities between April and July which amounts to R384 million to settle municipal debts for all its departments,” the department said.<\/p>\n New Joburg mayor Mashaba takes a swipe at former ANC regime<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n ANC is behind Johannesburg land invasions \u2013 Mashaba<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
More on Gauteng<\/h3>\n