The news that Johannesburg council has served pre-termination notices on two hospitals for outstanding electricity payments highlights the need for the Gauteng Health Department to pay their bills like everybody else.
According to the council, the Rahima Moosa Hospital owes R7 million and the Helen Joseph Hospital owes R23 million.
It is not clear whether other Johannesburg hospitals have been served notices as well.
According to an official reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature in August this year, the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital owed R329.6 million and Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital owed R19.3 million.
The Gauteng Health Department then claimed that R78 million was the total electricity debt owed to all councils in Gauteng.
I presume that serving notice on hospitals for payment is only a pressure tactic as it would be inhuman to cut electricity to a hospital.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi should step in to ensure all provincial government departments pay their municipality bills on time as this has been a sore point for many years now.