WHILE municipalities in Gauteng struggle to deliver services to residents due to their poor financial states, state schools in the province owe more than R262 million in rates and taxes to municipalities.
Residents in the province are currently struggling with water and sanitation systems, which are having a negative impact on their lives.
The municipalities also struggle to pay Eskom and Rand Water.
Gauteng finance MEC Lebogang Maile last month revealed that Gauteng municipalities owed Eskom, the bulk of water and other organisations R27.098 billion as at July 31, 2024.
Maile also revealed that 11 municipalities were owed more than R13bn to develop and improve revenue enhancement strategies and implement austerity measures to ensure service delivery operations remain within the adopted budgets.
He said this money was owed to municipalities by households, commercial entities, and organs of state.
In a written reply to questions posed by the DA this week, Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, said the schools in the province more than R262 million.
According to Chilaone, the government schools in Gauteng were divided into two categories.
Section 21 schools and non-section 21 schools.
The Section 21 status requires schools to be self-reliant. This status needs governors who are well-versed in financial management skills.
The non-section 21 schools' responsibilities do not receive the school allocation as money. Instead, the school works together with the department to decide what the school allocation should be used for, and the department buys the goods for the school.
Chiloane said the Gauteng Department of Education was responsible for the payment of services for non-section 21 schools, while the School Governing Bodies (SGB) were responsible for the payment of services for section 21 schools.
“The Gauteng Department of Education is responsible for 1 332 non-section 21 schools. Collectively, these schools owe R69 973 724.06. Section 21 schools owe R192 900 245.20, and of the debt owed by Section 21 schools, 269 schools are in arrears, while other schools' debts are current,” said Chiloane.
However, Chiloane said the non-section 21 schools owe the September debt and would be settled during the month of October. Section 21 schools pay on a monthly basis.
He added that the overdue debt ranges between 30 and 120 days of ageing analysis.
“It is concerning that the Gauteng Department of Education has allowed schools under its watch to rake up such huge deficits, given the financial crisis most municipalities are facing. Furthermore, it is worrying how schools can amass such debt. This suggests inadequate monitoring of these schools by the department and poor financial management within our schools,” said DA Gauteng spokesperson for education, Michael Walters.
In 2022, Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development Tasneem Motara and her department owed R59 520 972.57 to various municipalities in the province.
It was also revealed that the Gauteng government departments owed municipalities more than R449 million.
The worst top departments were Health, Human Settlements, Education, Infrastructure Development, Social Development, and Roads and Transport.
This also had a negative impact on the delivery of basic services to the residents of the province, especially those who diligently pay their rates and taxes and, in return, expect to be given the service delivery they deserve.