Contractors in eThekwini Municipality are protesting payment delays linked to a new online invoicing system.
Image: File
The new online invoicing system implemented by the eThekwini Municipality to facilitate the payment of contractors has been blamed for payment delays that have triggered protests by contractors and threatened service delivery.
Sources within the municipality stated that the system was implemented in a “rush”, without complete training and the buy-in of the users.
The latest strike occurred on Monday when city contractors protested outside the City's revenue offices, complaining about non-payment; some claimed they had not been paid for three months. This was the second protest in the past few months by contractors over the same issue. The contractors involved in the protests have predominantly included workers from the electricity and water units.
However, city workers and councillors stated that the problem of non-payment extends far beyond just these two groups and affects more contractors in other departments.
“The issue here is not money. The city had the funds to pay. The issue here is this system; it was meant to ease the payment of invoices, but it has not been working properly. It was implemented without training for those who are supposed to use it, so there has not been much buy-in, and there is resistance to it.”
“For instance, someone who had been working for the city, who is used to submitting their invoices by hand, is now expected to submit the invoice through the system. This could lead to resistance; if they do not submit, they will not get paid, which could lead to further protests. “The fact is that the city should have implemented the system in a smaller department first, projected its effectiveness, gained buy-in from users, and then gradually rolled it out to other departments,” said the source. The official added that the system is part of the city's efforts to ensure a corruption-free environment but is being let down by its implementation.
One contractor from electricity, who was subcontracting from the main contractor, is now owed close to half a million rand as he has not been paid in three months. “I am not even the main contractor; I subcontract from the main contractor. I was able to pay my guys for one month because I had a surplus, but I have not been able to pay for the last two months. That is the difficult situation we are finding ourselves in because we have not been paid for months.”
DA councillor Thabani Ndlovu stated that the challenges are not limited to the Electricity and Water Services (EWS), and he has called for the mayor’s immediate intervention to ensure that contractors are paid promptly.
“The failure to pay contractors not only undermines trust but directly threatens service delivery and the functioning of critical municipal infrastructure,” he said.
EThekwini Municipality’s Marketing and Communications director, Mandla Nsele, stated that the City is working to address the issue.
“The City would like to clarify that delays in payments to service providers are a result of the recent introduction of a new online invoicing system. This system requires all service providers to upload their invoices directly onto the platform.
“The initiative was implemented to strengthen compliance with legislative requirements, particularly the obligation to process payments within 30 days. All service providers are affected, as the requirement to upload invoices onto the system applies universally. At this stage, it is not feasible to quantify the rand value of outstanding invoices, as some have not yet been captured on the system,” he said.
He added that, to address the backlog, the City has deployed additional accounts payable staff to support line directorates in ensuring that invoices are uploaded onto the system.
“The City will also continue to provide ongoing training to service providers to assist them with accurate and efficient invoice capturing. Further measures include increasing staff capacity to support the uploading process, providing additional scanning resources, and implementing extended working hours, including weekends, to fast-track the capturing of invoices. Payments are also being processed daily to accelerate the clearance of the backlog.”
For more stories from The Mercury, click the link THE MERCURY