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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes from a written parliamentary reply by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, that the ANC-run provincial and national governments owe Matjhabeng Local Municipality more than R150 million in debt.

Of this amount, R39,9 million is debt owed by the national government and R77,5 million is owed by the provincial government with an additional R33,8 million owed by the Department of Education.

Residents of Matjhabeng have been left without water for extended periods of time due to failing infrastructure. The outstanding R150 million could have:

Provided Bloemwater with its bulk water infrastructure budget for roughly 3 years. The municipality owes them R5 billion.

Paid the minimum monthly amount that Matjhabeng agreed to with Bloemwater, but often fails to pay, for 15 months.

Repaired a large number of water leaks in the municipal infrastructure, which costs the municipality roughly R324 million a year. 56% of all bulk water that the municipality gets billed for, literally goes down the drain due to water leaks. Such repairs would substantially bring down the municipality's Bloemwater bill.

The failure of the provincial and national governments to pay their municipal debt is unacceptable and has a direct negative effect on service delivery. As parts of Matjhabeng is currently with no water, it is disingenuous of the government to urge residents of municipalities to stay up to date with municipal service accounts when they remain the greatest perpetrators. While residents face service delivery restrictions for non-payment, it appears that “Big Brother” is not subjected to the same levels of harassment.

The DA calls on the ANC-run provincial and national governments to urgently pay their bills and on the municipality to ensure that this income is used to ensure that the communities receive a reliable supply of clean water.

Issued by George Michalakis - DA Member of Parliament and Matjhabeng Constituency Head