The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality is owed R208-million in rates and taxes by government departments in the city.
This was revealed on Monday during parliament and the Eastern Cape provincial legislature’s engagement meeting with underperforming municipalities in the province.
The meeting is a joint oversight delegation comprising parliament’s portfolio committees on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, where they engage with the provincial legislature and with municipalities that have poor audit outcomes and governance challenges.
The meetings are scheduled to take place from Monday and Friday at the Estuary Hotel and Spa Conference Centre in Port Edward, Eastern Cape.
Poor collection of rates, taxes
During the meeting, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality chief financial officer Jackson Ngcelwane said the metro has a poor collection rate of rates and taxes.
Ngcelwane said government departments in the metro owed it R208-million as of June 30.
He said the city does not owe the Auditor-General (AG) and Eskom any money. Ngcelwane said the metro, which received a qualified audit opinion form the AG during the 2023-2024 financial year, has developed an audit action plan to remedy the qualified audit opinion.
The metro’s city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo said the city is currently experiencing challenges of high water and electricity losses.
Ngoqo said there has been a rise of informal settlements in the city from 156 informal settlements to 164 that it has to service.
He added that vandalism and theft of municipal infrastructure, gravel roads and housing backlogs are plaguing the city.
The Nelson Mandela metro, which is the first Eastern Cape municipality to account to parliament in the oversight meeting, is still making their presentation to parliament and fielding questions from MPs.
A total of 19 municipalities, including the two metros – Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City – are expected to appear before the joint oversight delegation and account for several persistent challenges, including disclaimers and poor financial statements, environmental degradation related to the neglect of landfill sites and wastewater treatment works that are causing pollution and affecting nearby communities, among others.
The oversight visit will conclude on Friday in Mthatha, where members of parliament are expected to meet traditional leaders and do site visits to disaster-affected areas.
