City debt book out of control

Although the Polokwane Municipality's overall financial position appears to be in order, a matter of concern is that the local authority's debt book has run out of control, reflecting an amount of more than R2.134b.

- Barry Viljoen

This is according to the midterm institutional report for the period July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 that was tabled in the recent council meeting.

The debt book is made up of R304m for organs of state, R421m for commercial clients and R1.371b for households, and the municipality agreed that the collection rate is below the norm, and the municipality will strengthen credit control measures to encourage customers to pay their accounts. This includes charging interest on overdue accounts, disconnection of meters and handing over customers to debt collectors for further stricter measures.