The CEO of South Africa's largest poultry producer, Astral Foods, says if Eskom cuts electricity to non-paying municipalities it will hasten the demise of businesses in rural areas that are struggling to survive in an environment of dysfunctional local government. The cuts were to have begun on January 23 but Astral and other businesses brought an urgent application to stop them. Eskom has agreed to wait for a hearing scheduled for February 22 in the High Court in Pretoria, but it has made it clear it is intent on going ahead with the cuts. Astral CEO Chris Schutte says the national government needs to intervene. "There is no hope unless there's an intervention by the cabinet," he says. "Nobody else is going to resolve this. We're not getting any assistance from the [Mpumalanga] provincial government. They've made it clear they will not intervene." Non-paying municipalities should be put under administration, he says. Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown announced on Tuesday that...
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