Zandile Gumede apologises to 30 Durban schools, after power was cut over unpaid bills
Durban mayor Zandile Gumede has apologised to 30 schools in and around the city after their electricity was cut off over outstanding municipal bills.Power has since been restored to all the schools. It was recently disclosed that section 21 schools — which manage their own finances — owed the eThekwini Municipality more than R80m in utility bills.Last Monday, Gumede hauled the offending Durban school principals before the municipality to explain why they were not paying. The meeting came after she had told a full council meeting that section 21 schools that had outstanding utility bills would not be automatically disconnected.But at the city’s executive committee meeting this week‚ Gumede issued an apology."As the mayor I was not aware of schools being disconnected. Even the deputy city manager of treasury, Krish Kumar, wasn’t aware of this. We had a meeting with the affected schools to better understand what the issues are and we are dealing with the matter‚" she said.She said rele...
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