Strict measures for defaulting municipalities that owe water boards R25 billion

THE Water and Sanitation Department will continue to request the National Treasury to withhold Équitable Share allocations to defaulting municipalities that owe R25 billion to water boards.

- MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA [e-mail]

This is according to the department's Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo, who also emphasised that the withholding of the allocations was used as the last resort to force the councils to honour their obligations.

"The Department of Water and Sanitation, together with the National Treasury and the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Department, will continue to implement this measure to municipalities that persistently default on their current accounts," he said.

Seitlholo made the statement yesterday when his department, Cogta, and the National Treasury briefed the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on the withholding of the Equitable Share from municipalities owing to water boards. He said the withholding of the Equitable Share was meant to ensure defaulting councils paid their current invoices prior to their allocations being released by the National Treasury.