KZN Public Works MEC Martin Meyer has fired back at eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba after Xaba publicly called on Meyer to settle more than R500 million in outstanding municipal rates owed to the City. Meyer said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is working every day to address structural issues that have accumulated over many years. “This department is responsible for more than 10 000 provincial government properties and manages their infrastructure, whilst user departments are responsible for their own water and electricity accounts directly,” he said.
Meyer said the challenge that the department faces with property rates is not mismanagement, but a long-standing underfunding of municipal rates across KwaZulu-Natal. We are fixing this through payment plans, budget adjustments, a cleanup of valuation rolls, property disposals, and revenue-generation initiatives that will deliver results over time. “Recently, the municipality disconnected electricity and water to our regional office, a fully paid-up building with regard to rates, disrupting essential government services across multiple departments and affecting thousands of residents,” he said.
Meyer called this conduct irrational, potentially unconstitutional, and not aligned with lawful credit control. Meyer added that it also violates the Municipal Systems Act, specifically Section 73, which requires municipalities to give priority to communities’ basic needs and to ensure that services are provided in an accessible, equitable, and sustainable manner.
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