Eskom has seized the bank account of  another municipality that owes it billions of rand as part of renewed efforts to play hardball with defaulters, and claw back R31bn in outstanding municipal debt.

The state-owned utility, whose own debt stands at R488bn at the end of March and was described before the Covid-19 pandemic as single most important risk to the economy, said on Sunday that it had attached the account of the Matjhabeng municipality in the Free State, which includes the town of Welkom. This was in response to the non-payment of R3.4bn in debt for the provision of bulk electricity. ..

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