The DA in Mpumalanga has noted with concern that eMalahleni, Lekwa and Govan Mbeki have once again been named amongst defaulting municipalities by Eskom.
For years, the DA has been calling on the Department of CoGSHTA to intervene and adopt a hands on approach that will assist these municipalities with their Eskom debt.
According to a top ten list compiled by Eskom, eMalahleni is the ‘worst’ defaulting municipality owing R9.9 billion as of November 2024. Lekwa and Govan Mbeki are also named on the list with debts of R5.2 billion and R2.6 billion respectively.
This list exposes the department’s so called ‘Integrated Municipal Support Plan’ aimed at improving financial management and service delivery.
This goes to show that the ANC administration is failing to appoint skilled administrators to ensure that adequate billing systems are put in place to address the issues of poor debt collection and the subsequent repayment of creditors.
It is extremely concerning to note how the Eskom debt in these municipalities has grown over the past six years. This steady growth in the Eskom debt is scary considering that these municipalities have been placed under a financial rescue plan since 2018.
We will not tolerate PR gimmicks from the provincial government anymore. We will not sit back and watch residents of these municipalities suffer because of the ANC’s incompetence. We will pursue every available avenue to ensure that this issue is addressed.
With this mind, the DA will write to the MEC of CoGSHTA requesting a meeting with him and the leaders of these municipalities to present possible solutions to address the ever increasing Eskom debt in their affected municipalities.