One province failed to pay 4,096 invoices worth R291.8 million on time

Eastern Cape departments did not pay 4,096 invoices worth R291.8 million within 30 days, representing 17.2% of all invoices processed in March 2026.

The Department of Health was the worst offender, failing to pay 2,340 invoices worth R161.9 million on time. 48% of all invoices processed by the department were paid late.

Transport followed, with 1,518 invoices worth R53.8 million paid late, representing 35.3% of all invoices it processed.

This was revealed in a press statement by Vicky Knoetze, a member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.

She said that this reflects badly on the Eastern Cape, as it places pressure on companies doing business with the province.

“The Eastern Cape cannot afford a government that destroys jobs with one hand while claiming to create them with the other,” she said.

Official unemployment in the province has surged to 47.5%, the highest in South Africa, while the Eastern Cape has shed 116,000 jobs in just one year.

“Against this backdrop, the provincial government should be doing everything in its power to keep businesses operating,” she said.

“Instead, it is withholding hundreds of millions of rand from businesses that have already delivered goods and services to the state.”

“For a small business operating on tight margins, an unpaid government invoice can mean the difference between paying salaries and retrenching workers.”

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane acknowledged that delayed payments can result in business closures, job losses, and service withdrawals.

“Despite this problem, the government has not undertaken a formal assessment to determine how much damage its own payment failures have caused,” she said.

The recurring failures in Health and Transport will now be referred to the Standing Committee of Public Accounts (SCOPA).

Knoetze will request that the committee call the respective accounting officers and CFOs to account for the failures.