MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Time to pay up: a look at municipal debt

Time to pay up: a look at municipal debt

More than R161-billion owed for electricity, water and taxes

Earlier this week, we reported on Kai !Garib Municipality in the Northern Cape, home to about 85,000 people. It is more than R1-billion in debt, most of it owed to Eskom. Its annual revenue in 2025 was less than R400-million. That is not enough to deliver essential services, let alone pay off its debt.
The municipality is unable to provide clean water or treat wastewater, and its roads are riddled with potholes.
The situation in Kai !Garib is not unique. According to the National Treasury, municipalities owed more than R161-billion in December 2025.
Eskom was owed R110.5-billion, while regional water boards and the Department of Water and Sanitation were owed R30.7-billion. SARS was owed R601-million, and the Auditor General R908-million…

Read More: Time to pay up: a look at municipal debt.

Poor sanitation: Inadequate sanitation facilities leading to health risks.

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Congratulations to the Lotto Winner

    Dear Editor Dear Editor, I was thrilled to hear about the R8.5 million Lotto win for the community of Gqeberha. Such life-changing news brings hope and excitement to everyone in the area. I congratulate the winner and wish them all the best with their prize. May this bring positive change to their life and the…

  • Opinion on Lotto Winner News

    Dear Editor Congratulations to the lucky winner! This is truly wonderful news for the community. Regards Marina Adams In Response to/From: Congratulations to the Lucky Winner

  • Regarding Lotto Winner Story

    Dear Editor Congratulations to the winner, this is wonderful news for the community. Wishing them the best for the future. Regards Willem Pieterse In Response to/From: Re: R8.5 Million Lotto Winner Claims Prize in Gqeberha

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fun South African Fact: The meandering 850km road through Cape Winelands is the world’s longest wine route.

  2. Hoezit /Howzit – How is it going? How are you? A common greeting which is often used instead of “hello” and “how are you?” It combines the two phrases into a simple, “Howzit”, thereby saving time.Example: “Howzit my bru!”