The MEC for the KwaZulu-Natal department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube together with the Mayor of KwaDukuza Local Municipality signed a pledge with ratepayers associations, big business and community members in regards to speedy payment for services.
This ground-breaking initiative is part of the department ongoing Revenue Enhancement Campaign themed “Pay Your Levies – Nothing for Mahhala”. This campaign seeks to encourage communities to take responsibility for Municipal Services by ensuring they pay on time every month.
At the signing Dube-Ncube explained the importance the pledge that they have undertaken today, “As government we understand the importance of Municipalities delivering services on time. in signing this pledge together with all stakeholder including big business we are agreed that local government is everyone’s business.
“We are also agreeing that fighting between local government and ratepayers associations is not helping us to elevate the state of our Municipalities. As an example the Ilembe district alone is owed R250 Million by big business and government departments. This amount of money if collected could go a long way in helping us to usher in a better life for all” continued Dube-Ncube.
“We are very grateful with the engagement that we had in the morning with businesses that are owing because they made an undertaking to pay back what is due to our municipalities. We are not going to rest until the debt that is owed to this sphere of government in the Province is collected” said Dube-Ncube.
The MEC also urged community members to be ambassadors of doing the right thing by paying for levies and services rendered by our Municipalities.
The next stop for this important campaign will the in the Mgungundlovu District, in the Msunduzi Local Municipality.
Media enquiries: KZN Cogta spokespersons Lennox Mabaso, 082 884 2403; and Msawakhe Mayisela, 060 966 4220; or Sphe Ngobese, 073 784 7822
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