GEORGE NEWS - The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) is grappling with nearly R70m in outstanding debt deemed largely uncollectable, of which 75% relates to fire services accounts.
The GRDM’s latest annual report for the 2024/25 financial year shows that a large amount of money owed it is unlikely to be paid back.
The provision set aside for these bad debts, called the impairment allowance, increased sharply to about R69.9m from R50.6m the year before.
Despite this, the Auditor-General gave the municipality a clean (unqualified) audit opinion with no major problems found, meaning the figures were properly recorded, added up correctly, and clearly shown in the financial statements.
CFO Rian Boshoff explained that the outstanding amounts specifically for fire services added up to R56.4m. This breaks down as R40.9m owed by private individuals, R10m by the national government, R5.1m by local governments, and R752 463 by the provincial government.
“The municipality has to keep providing these essential firefighting and emergency services to protect lives and property, even when payments are not coming in, which puts extra strain on their budget,” said Boshoff. He explained that it is standard practice to render fire and emergency services, which are essential for saving lives and protecting property. “The GRDM must therefore continue rendering these services, irrespective of the current levels of revenue collection, which places additional financial pressure on the district.”
Legal disputes
According to Boshoff, a common issue arises post-service: recipients often contest the fire’s origin, leading to legal disputes and delayed or avoided payments. Boshoff described this as an annual ongoing tendency rooted in a broader South African culture of non-payment for services rendered on credit.
He drew a parallel to George Municipality, with which consumer debtors for water and electricity exceed R618.3m (2025 financial statements), illustrating a similar pattern across local government.
The GRDM oversees and supports fire services across the district, including George, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Hessequa, Kannaland and Bitou.
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