DBET owed to South African towns and cities jumped to more than R300 billion in the final quarter of last year, adding to the financial woes of municipalities that are struggling to meet revenue targets amid persistent power cuts.
Consumers owed municipalities R305.8 billion by December 31, compared with R261.5 billion a year earlier, with households accounting for 71% of the total, data published by the National Treasury on Monday show.
About 84% of the arrears has been outstanding for more than 90 days and may therefore not be realistically collectible.
South African city councils struggle to collect payments for services from consumers and in turn battle to pay suppliers, including state power utility Eskom, which has threatened to cut off their electricity supply.
Municipal revenue has also been hit by Eskom’s inability to meet demand for energy, a situation that’s set to worsen as increasing numbers of consumers who
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