PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT
The state is cleaning up its act on payments, says EOH chief
Early evidence suggests the state is paying service providers faster, says EOH CEO Zunaid Mayet
There is early evidence that the revamped government is making good on its promise to pay companies more timeously for their services, says EOH CEO Zunaid Mayet. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in February, soon after being elected head of state, that the failure of some state departments to pay suppliers within 30 days had to be addressed urgently. "The culture of late payment has gone on for far too long and has caused too much damage, particularly to emerging black businesses," Ramaphosa said. EOH said last week that up to the end of January "payment practices from the public sector over the past year were poor". However, in February and March, state departments paid EOH R500m for services previously rendered. "Of course, we’re still doing business [with government departments] so the net effect was a R200m reduction in public sector debtors from where it was at the end of January," Mayet said. In March, former Ascendis Health CEO Karsten Wellner said that the state owed Ascendis ...
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