Final Adopted IDP - KZN Development Planning

egan operation in January 2011 not only increases the types of testing but should
attract people from outside of the Ulundi municipal area.
DEBTORS’ MANAGEMENT
The Municipality continues to be faced with the challenge of non payment for rates and
services (electricity within its license area and refuse removal). This has impacted
severely on the cash flow of the Municipality which in turn has hampered the effective
operation of the Directorates that deal with communities. During the 2012 / 2013
financial year the Municipality, through the Budget and Treasury Office, has purposed
to reduce the level of outstanding debtors‟ to R 60 million from its current level of
approximately R 100 million.
One of the primary reasons for increase in arrear residential debtor accounts is the
interest charge levied on the amount owed. An item was submitted to EXCO and the
Council of the Municipality in terms of which provision is made to write off the interest
charge as an incentive for arrear residential debtors to settle their outstanding
accounts (this applies to residential debtors only). Any interest write-off is conditional
on payment being effected of outstanding capital owed. The effect of the
implementation of this measure would be to reduce the amount of the debtors‟ balance
while at the same time unlocking cash flow from arrear capital amounts owed. This
initiative was brought to the attention of the KZN Department of Cooperative
Governance and the Provincial Treasury in September 2011 to ensure that there is no
appearance of any irregularity; however, to date there has been no response from the
provincial authorities.
The process of replacing all of the conventional electricity meters as well as the old
prepaid electricity meters with prepaid meters that feature a more advanced technology
has not had the desired effect of reducing electricity losses and reducing the payment
made to Eskom. The Municipality has undertaken a significant debtor collection
initiative which is designed to provide strategic focus on the reduction of outstanding
debtor balances and thereby releasing additional cash flow that can be beneficially
applied to the service delivery imperatives of the Municipality.
ASSET MANAGEMENT
All of the vehicles operated by the Ulundi Municipality are financed in terms of a full
maintenance finance lease arrangement; the Municipality is required to include all of
these vehicles in its insurance portfolio on an annual basis. The Municipality has a fully
updated and compliant fixed asset register in place. A service provider has been
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