Msunduzi Municipality served a notice for the potential disconnection of electricity and water services due to Northdale Hospital's high unpaid bills.
Image: Msunduzi Municipality/Facebook
Northdale Hospital has become the latest institution caught up in Msunduzi Municipality’s aggressive revenue collection drive, with the city confirming that its municipal account was more than R12 million in arrears and now subject to forensic investigation.
Municipal teams visited the Pietermaritzburg-based hospital on Monday as part of Operation Qoqimali, an ongoing revenue enhancement initiative aimed at enforcing the municipality’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy and improving revenue collection.
Msunduzi municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said supporting documentation and proof of payments were presented to the municipality by the hospital management.
“However, at the time of engagement, the payments in question were not reflecting on the municipality’s billing system, necessitating further verification and reconciliation processes.”
“Given the seriousness of the matter and the need to protect the integrity of municipal financial systems, the matter has since been referred for forensic investigation and internal verification processes to establish the status, allocation, and authenticity of the payments presented,” she said.
Mkhize said the municipality’s records showed that Northdale Hospital was in arrears in excess of R12 million, which remained subject to ongoing reconciliation processes.
“The municipality wishes to emphasise that the matter is being treated with the utmost urgency and that relevant departments are actively undertaking detailed verification processes, including account reconciliation and payment allocation reviews.”
“The municipality can further confirm that notice was issued in line with applicable municipal processes. However, engagements between the municipality and hospital management remain ongoing with the intention of resolving the matter administratively while due processes continue,” said Mkhize.
A request for comment was sent to the provincial department of health; however, a response was not received at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, the municipality is currently owed about R319 million by various government departments and institutions.
“The continued non-payment of municipal accounts places significant strain on the Municipality’s ability to maintain infrastructure, deliver services and meet its operational obligations to residents and businesses across the city,” said Mkhize.
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