SYSTEMIC ISSUES
Eskom debt needs switched-on action
There’s a systemic reasons for municipalities’ Eskom debt, and Salga is trying to get the president to listen, write Karen Heese and Kevin Allan
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) plans to escalate its lobbying on behalf of municipalities indebted to Eskom to presidential level, should ministerial attention prove fruitless. The issue is being attended to by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, Cooperative Governance Minister Des van Rooyen and Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson. While the municipalities threatened by cut-offs face a crisis and Eskom is out of pocket to the tune of R10bn, there are systemic reasons for the situation and work should begin to tackle them. The nonpayment of Eskom bills reflects deep-seated organisational and financial problems that need to be taken care of before any sustainable solutions to service delivery — including electricity — can be dealt with. Salga chairman and former executive mayor of Johannesburg Parks Tau labelled power cuts as "inappropriate", no doubt concerned that the lights may be switched off across SA again after defaulting municipalities were giv...
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