Pietermaritzburg’s acting city manager Nelly Ngcobo and a convoy of vehicles from the local Msunduzi municipal electricity department descended on Grey’s Hospital on Monday with an ultimatum: pay your R6m account within three hours or be disconnected.
Ngcobo said it was unfair that the city was being blamed for having no money for services while consumers are not paying for services rendered, reports The Witness.
Grey’s is a government hospital.
After delivering the ultimatum, the municipal cavalcade headed for the Department of Health’s headquarters at the Natalia building, to where Ngcobo said the hospital had directed them after saying the department “had failed to process the payment”.
On its Facebook page, the municipality later said: “The Qoqimali team is on the ground, Natalia is being disconnected due to an outstanding payment of R6.9m at Grey’s Hospital. The municipality is urging all government departments to settle their bills. Since the hospital cannot be disconnected due to its essential services, the department has faced disconnection instead.”
It has not been confirmed if the bill has yet been paid.
The Witness article – Msunduzi gives Grey’s Hospital 3 hours to pay R6 million account (Open access)
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