Local Government Programme Lead Jugal Mahabir joined a conversation with Lerato Mbele (Power FM), Minister of CoGTA Velenkosini Hlabisa and Lerato Phasha, Head of Municipal Finances at SALGA on 11 November 2024.
The discussion revolved around municipalities across the country who are grappling with revenue collection. For example, Gauteng’s municipalities are faced with an outstanding debt owed to them over R132 billion, with households alone accounting for R99.3 billion. Despite ongoing efforts to address the issue, the province’s municipalities are struggling to recover funds from a wide range of debtors, including households, commercial entities, and even organs of state.
“..we need to ensure that we collect our revenue from residents. … [but] you also have structural issues whereby the entire value chain needs to be affordable. [Increased costs] have a spillover effect onto affordability, onto households’ ability to pay for these services.” —Jugal Mahabir
