A company that unblocks drains from Sint-Martens-Latem, near Ghent is so fed up with waiting for payment from the Justice Department that it is threatening to refill the sceptic tank at the Court of Appeal in Ghent that is was called to empty 6 months ago. The Justice Department says that as emptying the sceptic tank was “an urgent task” that fell outside the normal operating budget for the courthouse it is taking longer than normal to pay the firm for the work it did. The Department promises that “The issue will be resolved as soon as possible”.
Company that unblocks drains threatens to refill sceptic tank at Court of Appeal in Ghent after waiting 6 months for payment
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In early December 2024 IG, a company from Sint-Martens-Latem that unblocks drains emptied the septic tank at the Court of Appeal in Ghent. It was a big job and 3 tankers were required to empty the tank of around 50,000 litres of slurry. IG’s Tom Brugge told VRT News that “The bill was for thousands of euro”
"However, up until now we have not received the order number that need to put onto the bill. It could of course just be a misunderstanding, but I have sent several mails but have never received an answer.. We are angry. They just don’t communicate and that is what is most annoying. To say it bluntly their shit has been cleaned up, but ours is still here”.
"I have already thought of changing the colour of the facade of the courthouse or refilling the sceptic tank. I don’t have the original content of the tank anymore, but I have plenty of the same kind of thing from elsewhere"
Justice Department "A solution a quickly as possible”
In the meantime, the Justice Department has been in touch with Mr Brugge. The Department confirms that his company has not yet been paid and says that the issue “will be resolved as soon as possible”.
The Justice Department’s Edward Landtsheere told VRT News that " Unfortunately, at the end of 2024, we were short of funds for our opperating costs. This meant that we could not pay for what was an urgent job via the normal route. As this was an urgent job, we followed another procedure. The invoice is now being processed through the process through which 'arrears' are paid. This means it must first pass though the Finance Inspectorate and the Council of Ministers before payment can proceed."
“We realise that this is particularly difficult for the firm involved. Therefore, we would like to express our appreciation to all our suppliers who, despite difficult circumstances, remain committed to working for the Justice Department”.
Not the first time
It is not the first time that companies or individuals have had to wait a long time for payment for their services from the Justice Department.
Last week, the Court of Appeal in Ghent joined the protest against the lack of resources within the Justice Department.