How ratepayers have been robbed by municipalities
Despite municipal revenue increasing by about 18% a year for the past 12 years, most metros have failed to undertake sufficient repairs, maintenance and essential capital expenditure
A comparative financial analysis of South Africa’s five largest metros highlights their overwhelming disregard for the National Treasury’s guidelines for municipal norms and standards. This is evident from their general underspending on essential infrastructure and maintenance — despite the huge increases in revenue they have gouged out of ratepayers in recent years.
The long-term study, by Prisma Contract Review Risk Management director Paul Nel, is based on 12 years’ worth of data drawn from the annual reports of the metropolitan governments of Joburg, Cape Town, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane (in descending order, based on their population size and annual revenue)...
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