A revenue collection process has been initiated by the Madibeng Local Municipality to recoup R3.2 billion in revenue. It is expected that Mayor Douglas Maimane will seek clarification from the municipal revenue office regarding his municipal account, and, if necessary, settle any outstanding amounts.
The council speaker Ditshego Mbezi and chief whip Elsie Kgautle would follow suit. Mayor Kotsokwane, who is the spokesperson for the mayor, said members of the mayor’s committee would follow suit on Monday afternoon. The same will be expected of councillors from 24 to 31 January, according to Kotsokwane.
According to him, people who do not have municipal accounts or live in areas without rateable properties should sign flat rate forms and commit to monthly payments.
Madibeng owed over R250 million in bulk water supply to the Tshwane Municipality, which won a court battle in June 2022 using a bond. It was acknowledged at the time that the municipality was in a bad financial position but measures were being taken to address it.
In the past, the municipality has struggled to provide service maintenance, resulting in a lack of revenue collection. He said overall, the municipality was owed R3.2 billion – R2.6 billion was owed by residents and the rest by government departments and commercial properties.
Kotsokwane said the issue was with the collection of revenue. The revenue collection drive is part of Operation Patela, announced last week.
Kotsokwane said the mayor was starting the process because “before we go outside [the municipality to the residents], we need to check the accounts of the MMCs and municipal employees before we demand what belongs to the municipality going forward”.