eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba
Image: eThekwini Municipality / Facebook
The eThekwini Municipality has issued a stern warning against the vandalism of the city’s infrastructure.
Speaking in a media briefing on Wednesday on its new online payment system, city officials revealed that there was damage to its infrastructure. It is believed the damage is linked to the protests over the delayed payments to some service providers.
It warned that any contractors involved in the vandalism of city infrastructure could lose their contracts, and they could be blacklisted and prosecuted as the city intends to brief law enforcement agencies on the vandalism of their infrastructure.
EThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba and City Manager Musa Mbhele spoke on the issue as they addressed the problem of non-payment of suppliers. Some of the suppliers have claimed they have not been paid for months. The delays have largely been blamed on the City's new online invoicing system. The system, which started operating fully in April, allows service providers to upload their own invoices.
The City said there is opposition to using the system by some service providers.
But Xaba said that the system was for the benefit of the service providers and will make it easy for them to be paid. He urged suppliers to ensure that their invoices submitted for work done for the City are compliant. He said this was important to ensure that the suppliers are paid on time. He stated that the city strives to ensure that all city service providers are paid on time.
The mayor raised concerns about damage to City assets, stating that they have found that their infrastructure has been vandalised and their offices have been closed apparently by protesting suppliers.
He warned contractors to refrain from any form of sabotage, stating that such actions will not be tolerated as the criminal acts will be reported to the police. Furthermore, the contractors that take part in sabotaging city infrastructure run the risk of being caught, their companies blacklisted, and their contracts being terminated.
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