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THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DoE) has accumulated R468 million worth of debt owed to municipalities for services such as water, electricity, sewage and refuse removal from April 2021 to January 2022.
From the R468 million, R445 Million is owed by schools in the province while R23 Million is owed by the department itself.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN said that it tried to raise the alarm regarding financial mismanagement in teh department.
DA KZN Spokesperson on Education, Dr Imran Keeka said despite warnings of poor management of funds the department returned unused funds to the provincial treasury.
“The DA has consistently raised the issue of the poor management of funds by the DoE. That the province’s municipalities are being crippled as a result of such massive outstanding sums from KZN’s largest government department is shameful,” Keeka said.
“To aggravate the situation, the recent budget close-out report showed that the Department had areas of under-expenditure with the result that funds were returned to provincial treasury. These funds should have been re-directed – according to proper PFMA guidelines. In particular, they could have been used to pay outstanding domestic accounts of the numerous schools that have recently been disconnected,” said Keeka.
According to the replies, KZN’s worst affected municipalities are|
· Ethekwini – with R372 Million outstanding;
· Msunduzi – R44.3million;
· Umgungundlovu at R15.8 million; and
· Ugu at R7.5 million.
The DA said it visited two schools in Msunduzi where water had been disconnected due to a municipal billing error and faulty procedures.
“In all of these instances, schools and therefore learners suffer the most while the kleptocrats sit around twiddling thumbs.”
The DA has now written to the former MEC with recommendations aimed at reducing domestic accounts.
These include;
• Changing ordinary light bulbs to LED’s;
• Installing solar panels where possible;
• Placing water restrictors on taps;
• Identifying and repairing water leaks; and
• Interacting with municipalities to ensure that proper meter readings are taken rather than relying on estimated bills.
INSIDE EDUCATION