LETTER: A mechanism does exist to help municipalities pay their debts
Provinces are required to devise appropriate recovery plans for councils who owe money
In her column, Carol Paton expresses her astonishment that no-one in the national cabinet is seized with the problem of municipal debt to Eskom, which is growing at a rate of R1bn per month (“State all at sea as no-one captains Eskom’s debt disaster (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/columnists/2020-03-09-carol-paton-state-all-at-sea-as-no-one-captains-eskoms-debt-disaster/)”, March 9).
There is indeed a mechanism to deal with this crisis. It is described in section 139 (5) of the constitution, which mandates provincial governments to step in when local governments cannot pay their debts. The provinces must devise an appropriate recovery plan, which is binding on the indebted municipality...
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