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 & EXPRESSGLORIOUSOUT FOR A WALK:Sasha the dog enjoys asunset walk at Nahoon RiverPicture: JOY GOWENMunicipal debtis a seriousproblem – DALocal metros are facing a growing crisisDam levels are mostlystable in BCMMATTHEW FIELDThe DA has raised seriousconcerns about thecontinued increase ofmunicipal debt in the EasternCape.According to shadow MECfor finance Retief Odendaal,local governments were owedover R20 billion in service fees.This, he said, was only madeworse by the Covid-19pandemic.“Ratepayers are alreadyunder significant strain andexcessive price hikes are morelikely to result in additionaldefaults than additionalr e ve n u e ,” he said.Odendaal said the partywould be appealing to theprovincial treasury forguidelines on how localmunicipalities can keep ratesand service charges as low aspossible.“Domestic householdsappear to be struggling the mostwhen it comes to payingmunicipal bills, as ordinaryconsumers now owemunicipalities some R14.5billion, while commercialconsumers owe municipalitiessome R3.45 billion in arrearsdebt.“Of this amount, R10 billionaccrued over the last year, aclear indication of thedecimating effect Covid-19 hashad on household income in thep r ov i n c e ,” said Odendaal.He said recent figuresprovided by EC premier OscarMabuyane in response toparliamentary questions painteda bleak picture for the province.“The arrears debt is alsoimpacting on localgovernment's cashflow, whichin turn has impacted on itsability to pay for servicesrendered.“Based on the response,some R2.8 billion was owed toservice providers, as ofDecember 31 2020,” Odendaalsaid.“Another concerning trend isthat government is also notpaying municipalities theirdues, as organs of state nowowe Eastern Capemunicipalities R1.33 billion inarrears debt.“An amount of R521 millionhas been outstanding for morethan a year already.”MATTHEW FIELDDam levels across BCMremained mostly stable thisweek, with only minorchanges recorded by thedepartment of water andsanitation (DWS).This matches the trend seenacross the Eastern Cape, withthe provincial level increasingby only 0.4 points to 55.4% asof Tuesday April 12.Bridle Drift saw the biggestdrop, going from 30.3%capacity last week to 29.7% perthe latest recordings.It was followed by Laing,which saw a drop of 0.4 points.However, this still leaves it thesecond best performing dam inthe area and currently sits at99.1% capacity.Wriggleswade remains to bethe worst hit dam in BCM anddropped a further 0.2 points thisDRYING UP:Wr i g g l e s w a d eDam continues tobe the worstperformingdamin the BCM areaP i c t u re :ALAN EASONweek, leaving it sitting at aworrying 20.2% capacity.There was some good news,however, with two damsrecording increases in levels.These were Nahoon, whichsaw a 0.2 point increase fromlast week to end at 38.6%, andRooikrans, which was sitting at99.8% capacity.Gubu was the only damwhich saw no change andremains at 85.7% capacity.Daily Dispatch Building, Cnr St Helena Rd & Quenera Dr,Triple Point, Beacon Bay. P.O. Box 131, East London, 5200T: 043-702 2000 F: 086 545 2648PRODUCT MANAGER:Chris van Heerden : E-mail: vanheerdenc@arena.africaEDITORIAL:Matthew Field : Phone 043-702 2125 Cell: 071 869 0598E-mail MatthewF@GoExpress.co.za (News Editor)Siphosihle Dyonase : Phone 043-702 2046 | Cell: 073 886 7908E-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 2122E-mail DyomfanaY@GoExpress.co.za (Sales Rep)ADMIN AND MARKETINGWendy Kretschmann : 072 738 2540 | E-mail - WendyK@GoExpress.co.zaDELIVERY ENQUIRIESPhone: 043-702 2239 / 2168 / 2103Go!&Express is available to read electronically every week on ourĞďŝĞĂŚŐŽĞĞĐŽĂĐĂĞŐŽĞĞĚŝŽŶŐŽĞĞĐŽĂŝĞĐŽŵŽĞĞŽGo!&ExpressŝŶĂŐĂŵĐŽŵŐŽĞĞŶĞGo!&Express subscribes to the Code of Ethics and Conduct for South AfricanPrint and Online Media that prescribes news that is truthful, accurate, fairand balanced. If we don’t live up to the Code, within 20 days of the date ofpublication of the material, please contact the Public Advocate at 011 484 3612, fax:¿khanyim@ombudsman.org.zaor lodge a complaint on our website: www.presscouncil.org.zaDsrac donates to local artistsSIPHOSIHLE DYONASEProvincial department of sport,recreation, arts and culture(Dsrac) MEC Fezeka Nkomonye recentlyattended a handover of equipment toup-and-coming artists at Gompo Hall inDuncan Village last week.The equipment included cameras,laptops, industrial sewing machines andsound equipment.Nkomonye said while thehandover was “a drop in the ocean” inthe effort to to mitigate the effect ofCovid-19, it is a step in the rightdirection in providing a conduciveenvironment for the creative sector.“The province continues to supportartists by training them to adapt to thenew normal so that they are able to selland market their craft virtually.“The department will continue tohold its festivals and make sure that evenwhen they are held virtually, artists arepart of them to enable them to performand make a living,” she said.Cinga Dyala, one of thebeneficiaries, said they were excited bythe handover.“It guarantees unimaginable growthfor the company I'm co-running with mybusiness partners, called the World ofArt Movement.“As performing artists, we have astreet art programme where we go to thebeachfront and sing for people, in orderto generate income on a daily basis sothis equipment will enhance our StreetGETTINGC R E AT I V E :Dsrachandedoverequipmentto localartists inDuncanVi l l a g eP i c t u re :SUPPLIEDp e r f o r m a n c e s ,” said Dyala“We are also running a childdevelopment programme where weassist primary and high school pupils, sothe equipment will help us producequality productions with the children.We have been given the tools to fish andwe are so excited and ready for ourjourney ahead.”
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