Go 15 April 2021

8 GOT A NEWS STORY? Call our news desk on (043) 702 2125 or (043) 702 2046. Find us on Facebook 15 April 2021 GO & EXPRESS
GLORIOUS
OUT FOR A WALK:
Sasha the dog enjoys a
sunset walk at Nahoon River
Picture: JOY GOWEN
Municipal debt
is a serious
problem – DA
Local metros are facing a growing crisis
Dam levels are mostly
stable in BCM
MATTHEW FIELD
The DA has raised serious
concerns about the
continued increase of
municipal debt in the Eastern
Cape.
According to shadow MEC
for finance Retief Odendaal,
local governments were owed
over R20 billion in service fees.
This, he said, was only made
worse by the Covid-19
pandemic.
“Ratepayers are already
under significant strain and
excessive price hikes are more
likely to result in additional
defaults than additional
r e ve n u e ,” he said.
Odendaal said the party
would be appealing to the
provincial treasury for
guidelines on how local
municipalities can keep rates
and service charges as low as
possible.
“Domestic households
appear to be struggling the most
when it comes to paying
municipal bills, as ordinary
consumers now owe
municipalities some R14.5
billion, while commercial
consumers owe municipalities
some R3.45 billion in arrears
debt.
“Of this amount, R10 billion
accrued over the last year, a
clear indication of the
decimating effect Covid-19 has
had on household income in the
p r ov i n c e ,” said Odendaal.
He said recent figures
provided by EC premier Oscar
Mabuyane in response to
parliamentary questions painted
a bleak picture for the province.
“The arrears debt is also
impacting on local
government's cashflow, which
in turn has impacted on its
ability to pay for services
rendered.
“Based on the response,
some R2.8 billion was owed to
service providers, as of
December 31 2020,” Odendaal
said.
“Another concerning trend is
that government is also not
paying municipalities their
dues, as organs of state now
owe Eastern Cape
municipalities R1.33 billion in
arrears debt.
“An amount of R521 million
has been outstanding for more
than a year already.”
MATTHEW FIELD
Dam levels across BCM
remained mostly stable this
week, with only minor
changes recorded by the
department of water and
sanitation (DWS).
This matches the trend seen
across the Eastern Cape, with
the provincial level increasing
by only 0.4 points to 55.4% as
of Tuesday April 12.
Bridle Drift saw the biggest
drop, going from 30.3%
capacity last week to 29.7% per
the latest recordings.
It was followed by Laing,
which saw a drop of 0.4 points.
However, this still leaves it the
second best performing dam in
the area and currently sits at
99.1% capacity.
Wriggleswade remains to be
the worst hit dam in BCM and
dropped a further 0.2 points this
DRYING UP:
Wr i g g l e s w a d e
Dam continues to
be the worstperforming
dam
in the BCM area
P i c t u re :
ALAN EASON
week, leaving it sitting at a
worrying 20.2% capacity.
There was some good news,
however, with two dams
recording increases in levels.
These were Nahoon, which
saw a 0.2 point increase from
last week to end at 38.6%, and
Rooikrans, which was sitting at
99.8% capacity.
Gubu was the only dam
which saw no change and
remains at 85.7% capacity.
Daily Dispatch Building, Cnr St Helena Rd & Quenera Dr,
Triple Point, Beacon Bay. P.O. Box 131, East London, 5200
T: 043-702 2000 F: 086 545 2648
PRODUCT MANAGER:
Chris van Heerden : E-mail: vanheerdenc@arena.africa
EDITORIAL:
Matthew Field : Phone 043-702 2125 Cell: 071 869 0598
E-mail MatthewF@GoExpress.co.za (News Editor)
Siphosihle Dyonase : Phone 043-702 2046 | Cell: 073 886 7908
E-mail DyonaseS@GoExpress.co.za (Reporter)
ADVERTISING (Classified and Run of Paper)
Cheryl Larsen : 082 432 5665 | E-mail CherylL@GoExpress.co.za (Sales Rep)
Yaneliseka Dyomfana : Phone 043-702 2122
E-mail DyomfanaY@GoExpress.co.za (Sales Rep)
ADMIN AND MARKETING
Wendy Kretschmann : 072 738 2540 | E-mail - WendyK@GoExpress.co.za
DELIVERY ENQUIRIESPhone: 043-702 2239 / 2168 / 2103
Go!&Express is available to read electronically every week on our
ĞďŝĞĂŚŐŽĞĞĐŽĂĐĂĞŐŽĞĞĚŝŽŶ
ŐŽĞĞĐŽĂ
ŝĞĐŽŵŽĞĞŽ
Go!&Express
ŝŶĂŐĂŵĐŽŵŐŽĞĞŶĞ
Go!&Express subscribes to the Code of Ethics and Conduct for South African
Print and Online Media that prescribes news that is truthful, accurate, fair
and balanced. If we don’t live up to the Code, within 20 days of the date of
publication of the material, please contact the Public Advocate at 011 484 3612, fax:
¿khanyim@ombudsman.org.za
or lodge a complaint on our website: www.presscouncil.org.za
Dsrac donates to local artists
SIPHOSIHLE DYONASE
Provincial department of sport,
recreation, arts and culture
(Dsrac) MEC Fezeka Nkomonye recently
attended a handover of equipment to
up-and-coming artists at Gompo Hall in
Duncan Village last week.
The equipment included cameras,
laptops, industrial sewing machines and
sound equipment.
Nkomonye said while the
handover was “a drop in the ocean” in
the effort to to mitigate the effect of
Covid-19, it is a step in the right
direction in providing a conducive
environment for the creative sector.
“The province continues to support
artists by training them to adapt to the
new normal so that they are able to sell
and market their craft virtually.
“The department will continue to
hold its festivals and make sure that even
when they are held virtually, artists are
part of them to enable them to perform
and make a living,” she said.
Cinga Dyala, one of the
beneficiaries, said they were excited by
the handover.
“It guarantees unimaginable growth
for the company I'm co-running with my
business partners, called the World of
Art Movement.
“As performing artists, we have a
street art programme where we go to the
beachfront and sing for people, in order
to generate income on a daily basis so
this equipment will enhance our Street
GETTING
C R E AT I V E :
Dsrac
handed
over
equipment
to local
artists in
Duncan
Vi l l a g e
P i c t u re :
SUPPLIED
p e r f o r m a n c e s ,” said Dyala
“We are also running a child
development programme where we
assist primary and high school pupils, so
the equipment will help us produce
quality productions with the children.
We have been given the tools to fish and
we are so excited and ready for our
journey ahead.”