The Gauteng provincial government has made R1.6-billion in arrears payments to service providers, premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Thursday.

Late payments to service providers have been an issue that Mokonyane has taken up since her inaugural speech in May.

The R1.6-billion represents a substantial portion of the R1.7-billion in outstanding debts to service providers identified by the province. The remainder of the debt will be paid by the end of the year, Mokonyane told reporters at the Gauteng Economic Recovery Summit held in Ekurhuleni.

However, Gauteng spokesman Thabo Masebe cautioned that further investigations had uncovered more debt than previously thought.

"Due to systemic problems some issues were discovered," he said.

"So we owed a lot more than the 1.7-billion."

Masebe said a full accounting would be available in the coming weeks. Despite this setback, he said the remaining payments would still be made by the end of the year.

A businessman at the summit agreed that the situation had improved. Commercial Silkscreen Printers director of business development Frans Moabelo said he had not applied for government tenders in the past due to late payments.

"I stayed away from government. I can't carry a million rand contract for three or four months."

"If I carry it on an overdraft the bank is going to charge me interest... my profits will go down the drain," said Moabelo.

"I'm a small businessman, I'd go out of business."

Moabelo blames "bad management" for the length of time it takes service providers to be paid. "Lazy buggers."

However, he said things are changing in the provincial government. Moabelo said his company intended to apply for government tenders next year.

The summit was held to bring business, trade unions, and civil society organisations and government together to discuss the economic situation in Gauteng.

"We need...new parternerships between the state and government," said Business Unity SA CEO Jerry Vilakazi.

Gauteng economic development MEC Firoz Cachalia also called for more co-operation and committed to public spending to stimulate the economy until it a recovery was certain.

"We have good reason to be rationally optimistic," said Cachalia.

"The risk is to withdraw these incentives too soon."

Mokonyane said public spending had already saved jobs. She said R152 million had been spent on the auto-parts manufacturing and has saved 47 000 jobs.

"It's not what we planned for but we found a fire and we brought the engine to put the fire out," said Mokonyane.

Mokonyane also took an opportunity to attack poor service delivery, public waste and corruption.

She said almost half of the province's R58-billion budget was geared towards services such as education and health.

"What are we getting?" she asked, answering: "Long queues, people sleeping under trees, misdiagnosis, teachers missing class."

Mokonyane said services had to be delivered efficiently and more accountability had to be expected.

"It's not an unfair dismissal for a teacher who is only spending three-and-a-half hours in a class," she said.

"It is about what must be done and responsibility and how we are going to be accountable."

Attacking corruption, Mokonyane said businesses offering bribes should be held to account.

"When you talk of corruption, there is a corrupter and a corruptee. Lead us not into temptation."

Mokonyane demanded that "business must stop lobbying us". She said public figures who "never even had a blue card" during the struggle might find extra money sitting in their bank accounts.

"Rather than you [business] bringing that R25 000, bring it to a social cause."

Mokonyane told the audience that when public figures were found guilty of corruption, they did not deserve to be defended by colleagues out of principle.

"When someone is found guilty of an offence, let's not defend them."

AFP

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