The eThekwini Municipality
Councillors and ratepayers are calling for stronger action against government departments that owe eThekwini Municipality billions of rand, following concerns that they are treated with "kid gloves" while ordinary residents face service disconnections over much smaller debts.
The call follows the release of a municipal consumer-debt report, which shows that total consumer debt has ballooned by nearly R2 billion over the past three months and is approaching R50 billion. Most of the debt is owed by households.
The report also highlights growing arrears owed by government departments and state entities. It records total government and parastatal debt of R2.6 billion.
A report shows that a government department's debt increased by R700 million between May and July, rising from R1.9 billion to R2.6 billion. The report also found that a parastatal owed more than R500 million.
