Johannesburg - Service providers in the City of Joburg will march to the mayor’s office next week to demand payments for services rendered to the city after three months of not being paid.
A number of companies have come together to take the city on in demanding their money before Christmas. Most of the companies are contractors and sub-contractors who have had to borrow money to keep their businesses afloat.
A number of events have proven that the city is on the verge of collapse: City Power contractors have downed tools because they have not been paid; vehicles have been taken from some departments in the city because rental company Avis has not been paid. The Johannesburg International Transport Interchange had not been open because contractors had not been paid, and now the city’s revenue department in the Joburg CBD has been moved because the landlord has kicked the city employees out of the building.
The office of the mayor of Joburg, Mpho Phalatse, and the office of the MMC of Group Corporate and Shared Services, Leah Knott, referred all queries to the office of City manager Brian Maduka, who is managing a broke city.
In a statement, Nkosekhaya Mwelase, one of the owners of a company owned by the city, said businesses had been struggling to meet their commitments because of the city’s inability to pay service providers.
Mwelase said a number of projects had been stopped because suppliers and service providers had not been paid.
“It’s major projects, such as the corridors of freedom Ward 124 Clinic has unfortunately come to a stop, The school pavements precinct had to sadly stop, the fire station had to stop,” Mwelase said.
He said families of poor workers had been without a stable income for three months. Some contractors and service providers have had to take loans from the bank, while others have had to sacrifice their personal savings to pay employees.
“We therefore call on every affected resident in the city to join us as we march to demand immediate payments of all contractors and any other outstanding monies,” Mwelase said.
The Star