South Africa’s Towns Owed $17 Billion, Face Revenue Squeeze
- More than 80% of debt owed to councils may not be coverable
- Municipalities concerned about consumers going off grid
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Debt owed to South African towns and cities jumped to more than 300 billion rand ($16.5 billion) in the final quarter of last year, adding to the financial woes of municipalities that are struggling to meet revenue targets amid persistent power cuts.
Consumers owed municipalities 305.8 billion rand by Dec. 31, compared with 261.5 billion rand a year earlier, with households accounting for 71% of the total, data published by the National Treasury on Monday show. About 84% of the arrears has been outstanding for more than 90 days and may therefore not be realistically collectible.