SPCA on payment tenterhooks
Still no municipal money in account on Monday
The money needed for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Uitenhage to reopen has yet to reflect in the organisation’s bank account, with the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality promising the money would have been paid by Friday.
This, after the municipality finally signed off on a tender deviation on Thursday last week to ensure the animal pound was able to reopen with a R161,000 payment.
By Monday afternoon, the R161,000 payment had not yet reflected in the SPCA’s account.
Despite not being paid yet, SPCA district chair Deirdre Swift said she remained hopeful as staff desperately needed their money for the Christmas period.
“I am keeping my fingers crossed that when I wake up in the morning there’ll be something in the bank.
“We’re beginning to get concerned but we don’t want to say that the money hasn’t been paid yet because it might be a delay processing payments at the bank.
“What’s important is that we work together with the council in resolving this,” Swift said.
She said she tried calling the relevant officials on Friday to get an indication of when the payment would be made but people did not answer.
The municipality has not paid the SPCA since July, with the municipal pound closing its doors in September.
Previously, Swift said she was worried that the municipality had said it would not reimburse the SPCA R131,000 for taking in strays since September – something she would fight next year.
“The amount is for the stray animals we’ve been picking up on the side of the road and those brought in by residents.
“We’ve been doing the function of animal control even though we didn’t have a contract in place because it’s the SPCA’s mandate not to turn away animals, because they don’t only become a problem for us but the municipality as a whole,” Swift said.
Acting municipal manager Peter Neilson said the money was loaded for payment but he would need more clarity from acting chief financial officer Jackson Ngcelwane.
Neilson said the problem was probably with the bank as the deviation was signed.
“It’s definitely been loaded for payment but the delay could be because of which bank the money needs to be deposited into,” Neilson said.
Swift said she had heard via media reports that the municipality signed the order but this had not been communicated to her.
“No-one has confirmed anything to me,” she said.
“Communication is bad but I’ll just have to keep an eye on our bank notifications because the pound will only be opened once we’ve been paid.”
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