JOHANNESBURG - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure Development is under severe financial pressure, grappling with a R1.7-billion municipal rates debt.
The staggering amount far exceeds its budget of R900-million.
Part of the problem is that the department is still paying rates for nearly 1,500 hijacked or illegally occupied government properties.
The department owns a total of 10,067 properties across the province.
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Martin Meyer, Public Works MEC, said the department’s problems were compounded by underfunding and inaccurate billing.
“We don’t always get the right bills from the municipalities. If we have 10,000 properties, we can’t check every bill. There are a lot of issues why we are here. We are chronically underfunded for rates, the debt grows, and now municipalities and residents are suffering,” Meyer said.
He added that hijacked and illegally occupied properties were also exacerbating the debt.
“We have buildings that we can’t use for government, but we must pay them. Sometimes the occupants tap into electricity and water, which also has to be paid. That is a huge issue for us, and one we are going to work on very hard,” Meyer explained.
The department has about 700 hijacked houses in Ulundi, previously occupied by government officials before 1994.
“We are looking at a rent-to-buy scheme for people living in those houses. If it doesn’t serve the public, it must not belong to the department,” he said.
A substantial portion of the debt also comes from buildings in Pietermaritzburg’s Msunduzi Municipality and eThekwini Municipality.
Meyer said the department is negotiating with municipalities to exempt schools from property taxes.
“Why are we taxing schools? If we can at least exempt the schools, it will help us a lot,” he said.