COGTA ANNUAL REPORT 2020

14. Nine (9) Municipalities monitored and provided with capacity to resolve Government Debt The Department together with Gauteng Provincial Treasury has set up Government Debt Management Committee engagements. The objectives of the Committee is to fast-track payment of monies owed to Municipalities by National and Provincial Government Department. The committee meets on a quarterly basis. The meetings are facilitated to resolve any queries between the Departments and the Municipalities. Furthermore, the engagements are aimed at ensuring that debtor’s information on Government accounts is corrected in order to facilitate regular future payments for Municipal services. The meetings recognize the importance of an interactive approach between Municipalities and the affected Government Departments. The Government Debt Management Committee comprises of at least: • Official representatives of all owing National and Provincial Departments, • Debt Managers from Parastatals (Rand Water, Eskom, Prasa, Telkom and Transnet), • Revenue Managers from all Municipalities. In addition, two municipalities implemented simplified revenue plans with specific focus on Indigent management (Merafong and Lesedi LM). The implementation was done in conjunction with National DCoG.

IMPACT STATEMENT The debt reported by Municipalities for National and Provincial Departments as at March 2020 was R 647 706 294.51. Significantly, total payments facilitated by the two Departments on behalf of Municipalities in the years April 2019 to March 2020 amounted to R 1 983 347 707.78. Furthermore, successfully coordinates the IGR engagements between the municipalities and departments thus resulting in: • Improved communication and relationships between the departments, parastatals and municipalities. Reduction in the disconnections of critical services. Encouraging departments and parastatals to provide proof of payments to facilitate the correct allocation of accounts within municipalities. • •

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G A U T E N G P R O V I N C I A L G O V E R N M E N T I C O- O P E R A T I V E G O V E R N A N C E A N D T R A D I T I O N A L A F F A I R S ANNUAL REPORT 2019/20 36