City of Joburg asks SAICA and IRBA to help it recover debt from businesses

10 May 2018 - 18:19 By Timeslive
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Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.
Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.
Image: VATHISWA RUSELO

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has asked the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) to help the city recover money owed to it by businesses.

Mashaba said on Thursday that he had written to the two bodies to “raise serious concern with the number of businesses who are failing to pay their municipal accounts and who have disappeared from our database”.

“I have requested the intervention of SAICA and IRBA to ensure its members are aware of these challenges and to advance greater ethical practices when it comes to accounting and the auditing of businesses in Johannesburg‚” he said.

He said it was estimated that the city was losing between R7-billion and R10-billion in revenue per annum as a result of municipal accounts that had been removed from the billing system.

In February‚ the City of Johannesburg launched Operation Buya Mthetho‚ a multi-departmental operation aimed at enforcing by-laws and bringing back the rule of law in the City of Johannesburg.

The operation is being jointly conducted by key city departments and entities such as the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS)‚ JMPD‚ Environmental Health‚ Social Development‚ Infrastructure Services‚ the City’s Legal Department‚ and Development Planning.

The operation targets properties across Johannesburg that are not paying for municipal services.

Mashaba said that to date‚ the city had identified over 2‚000 accounts that had been deliberately removed from the city’s billing system.

“Of particular concern to me‚ is the number of well-known businesses and establishments which have been identified as not paying for municipal services."


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