ESKOM DEBT
Administration no solution for councils owing Eskom, says Van Rooyen
Challenges are ‘structural and systemic’, says Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des Van Rooyen
Placing municipalities that were battling to pay their debts to Eskom under administration was not a viable solution, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des Van Rooyen told Parliament on Wednesday. Payment agreements would continue to be drafted and updated, he said. When asked whether councils that continuously defaulted on their debt would be placed under administration, Van Rooyen said the challenges they faced were "structural and systemic" and that placing municipalities under administration was an overly simplistic view. "The problems we are dealing with are structural and systemic. The introduction of admin is not the solution. "The problems go back to financial liability and the use of a land base. Intervening without understanding is not helpful," said Van Rooyen. The Department of Public Enterprises, the Treasury and the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs had formed a team to help tackle the councils’ challenges, the ministe...
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