Finance MEC's U-turn

BANKRUPTCY: MAILE DENIES GAUTENG FACES R6BN SHORTFALL BY JUNE

- Enkosi Selane

Finance MEC Lebogang Maile yesterday strongly denied that Gauteng is facing potential bankruptcy and a R6 billion shortfall by June.

This is despite his media briefing in September, where he cautioned that the province could find itself "R6 billion in the red".

"If we are not vigilant and we are not careful, the Gauteng government could be bankrupt by next year; it could be R6 billion in the red if we are not careful.

"But I don't know; as I said, the public funds are in good hands, and we are looking at balancing all of that to make sure that we don't have problems," he said at the time.

However, at a media briefing yesterday, Maile started by explaining the decision to address the claims and reports comprehensively.

"We initially thought maybe we should just issue a statement, but it would be like we are running away from accounting," he said.