Eskom attaches assets of Emfuleni municipality after obtaining R1.3bn judgment

Eskom on Thursday attached the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s assets after obtaining a R1.3bn judgment against it last month.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted an order allowing the state-owned power utility to attach the assets after the municipality failed to settle its accounts and arrears.

The municipality, which includes Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark, owes Eskom R5.3bn.

Eskom has also approached the department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs (Cogta) to assist it with the City of Tshwane, whose debt continues to grow “unabated” despite numerous talks.

Tshwane’s total bill on November 30 is R1.6bn after it failed to pay R886m for September — the amount was due on October 19 — and it is in arrears of R699m, Eskom said.

The city’s October bill of R894m, which was due on November 16, is also outstanding, it added.

“The Public Finance Management Act requires that institutions recover what is owed to them. It is for this reason that Eskom sought the intervention of Cogta in this matter. The overdue debt has contributed negatively to the liquidity, financial performance and sustainability of the organisation, where Eskom has to borrow to meet its financial commitments,” the company said.

“The power utility relies on municipalities and all its customers to pay their accounts timeously in order for Eskom to continue delivering on its mandate to supply electricity.”

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