Debt Collection Services, City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

R 1 M

total municipal debt collected

customer accounts engaged

1 %

collection yield on workable debt
book

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The Story

Ntiyiso Revenue Consulting partnered with the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to tackle one
of South Africa’s most persistent local government challenges: revenue leakage through unpaid municipal
debt. Mandated under Section 96(a) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Ntiyiso was
deployed as an extended resource of the City to collect outstanding debt across the Germiston and
Boksburg service areas from August 2022 to June 2025. The gross debt handover file amounted to R3.07
billion for Germiston and R787 million for Boksburg.

The Challenge

Like many South African municipalities, Ekurhuleni faced mounting pressure from a growing debt book,
declining collection rates, and a weakened cash position threatening service delivery to over 4 million
residents. The absence of effective systems had resulted in rising bad debt and a fragmented view of what
was actually collectable.

What We Did

Delivered Letters of Demand and focused engagement on high-value and grudge-payer accounts

Bulk SMS intensification campaigns targeting non-payers, Body Corporate engagement, and round table sessions with businesses

GIS analysis to spatially map and prioritise collection efforts

Deceased Debtor Strategy pilot and identification of accounts for escalated credit control action

On-site query specialists stationed at both municipal offices full-time, responsible for customer query resolution and payment arrangements

100% penetration of all business accounts to attempt debt collectability

The Results

R44.2 million collected in Germiston (Nov 2022 – Jun 2025) from 6,851 payments

R14.2 million collected in Boksburg (Mar 2023 – Jun 2025) from 2,558 payments

Debt book thoroughly analysed, segmented, and cleansed, providing the City with an accurate picture of collectable vs. non-collectable debt for future planning

Demonstrated the effectiveness of a collaborative specialist-municipality partnership model

The project proved that structured, data-driven debt collection, combined with on-the-ground engagement
and stakeholder coordination, can materially improve a municipality’s revenue position even in a complex
operating environment.