With less than 13 days of cash left the DA in Ekurhuleni is incredibly worried about the dire state of the City of Ekurhuleni’s finances. In a Special Council Sitting today, the DA laid the City’s financial situation bare.
At the end of June 2023, the City’s cash flow was reported at R438 million. This represents less than 13 days of cash on hand, meaning that an unforeseen expense or increased spending would cripple the City entirely. From the below it is clear that financial irregularities are rife in Ekurhuleni.
Currently, the city is sitting with just over R3 billion in outstanding payments owed to Creditors. This can be broken down as follows:
- R245 million owed to Eskom
- R174 million owed to Rand Water
- R117 million owed to ERWAT (Ekurhuleni Water Care Company)
- R2.5 billion owed to outsourced contractors
Ald. Tanya Campbell has also raised the issue of transparency – why is it that, despite quarterly reports indicating a dire financial situation, the executive does not report monthly on the City’s finances? Their haphazard reporting serves to strengthen their lies.
It should come as no surprise that contractors and entities alike are starting to refuse assistance and service delivery to residents. Residents will ultimately bear the burden of service delivery failure, but one must ask, when will the City of Ekurhuleni pay its bills?
Ekurhuleni, however, is no stranger to problematic finances. Between 2016 and 2021 the ANC-led coalition burnt through R8 billion worth of cash reserves. This not only nearly bankrupted the city, but also created a situation that is very difficult to climb out of.
We aren’t surprised at the lack of financial acuity by the current executive, as Cllr Nkululeko Dunga’s first act upon appointment as MMC for Finance was to spend R2 billion on a 25-day long security tender. Now, less than five months later, the National Treasury is warning the City against its dire financial position.
We demand that the executive implement sound budgetary practices, and strictly monitor expenditure and credit while practicing some modicum of financial discipline. All money owed to the city must be collected as a matter of urgency and plowed back into saving the city from a hapless MMC.
The DA knows how to implement sound financial practices, and were it not for the EFF/ANC coalition, the city would be in a much better situation. Beyond sound financial practice, however, it is imperative that the City’s coffers stop serving as a feeding trough for comrades.