Water cuts loom large as ADM fails to cough up

Mokonyane gives council ultimatum over R50.6m debt, department in bid to recover billions

THOUSANDS of Amathole district municipality residents could face water cuts if the municipality fails to start paying the millions it owes the national Department of Water and Sanitation by next Friday.

The water cuts plan was announced by Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane on Monday, when she highlighted Amathole (ADM) as one of 30 municipalities notified last week that the department would terminate bulk water supplies “should they fail to pay their water debts due to the department and water boards by December 8”.

Amathole’s current stands at R50.6-million.

The municipality supplies water to all six local municipalities within its jurisdiction: Mbhashe, Mnquma, Raymond Mhlaba, Amahlathi, Great Kei and Ngqushwa.

Mokonyane said the department was owed a total of R10.7-billion for water supplied.

Of this amount, R3.9-billion is owed to the department’s Water Trading Entity (WTE).

The other R6.8-billion is owed to the various water boards.

Revenue collected by the WTE is used for building new infrastructure, the operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure, water quality and pollution control operations, and water debt the repayment of loans.

The 30 municipalities’ current failure to pay their debts threatens the future water supply of the department, said Mokonyane.

“Of the above debt, R7-billion has been outstanding for a period exceeding 120 days. This amounts to R3.5-billion to the WTE and R3.5billion to the water boards,” she said, adding that in terms of the Municipal Financial Management Act, municipalities were required to pay for bulk services within 60 days of receiving the invoice.

Limpopo’s Mopani district municipality owes the department R274.7million and Vhembe district municipality owes R642.8-million.

Mpumalanga’s Mbombela local municipality owes R103-million, Lekwa local municipality R450.2-million and Msukaligwa local municipality R394.9-million.

North West’s Mompati district R195-million.

The Free State’s Mafube local municipality owes R159.8-million and Maluti-A-Phofung local municipality R233.9-million.

Mokonyane commended the O R Tambo district municipality for being the only municipality that is currently servicing its debt in line with a payment plan agreed to with the department after a judgment was granted by the courts concerning the matter.

She said the other five municipalities taken to court were still failing to settle their debt and as such the amounts were rising unabated.

“To arrest the growing debt and recover the monies due to the department, we have since come to the important yet unfortunate decision of issuing notices to the affected municipalities to either pay by December 8 or face water cuts,” Mokonyane said.

The ADM had not responded to a request for comment by print deadline. — Ruth Segomotsi municipality owes