ANC municipalities’ poor governance will push Eskom to cut the lights

17 November 2015

Reports today reveal that 27 municipalities are at threat of having their power cut off by Eskom, because of failure to pay money owed. The DA can confirm that every single one of these municipalities is governed by the ANC. 

It is indeed greatly distressing that because of the ANC’s poor financial management that tens of thousands of households are at threat of having their power cut. This will deny them important basic services.

The DA will accordingly request that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, meet with the Portfolio Committee and present a progress report on the  re-payment plan agreed to last year which was formulated to retrieve all outstanding debt owed to Eskom. 

Considering these reports, the Minister must also propose improvements to the re-payment plan that seems to be failing and threatens to leave thousands of South Africans- including students writing exams- without electricity.

The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) recently revealed in Parliament that the figure owed by the municipalities is around a staggering R4.5 billion. 

The primary cause of this debt is an inability by the municipalities to collect the revenues owed to them for property rates and services provided. In many instances, this can be attributed to failing billing systems and inadequate credit control policies.

The financial mismanagement, poor governance and irresponsibility shown by these ANC municipalities will unfortunately hit the poorest the hardest. 

The National Treasury Report to Parliament on the Over and Under spending of Municipalities indicates that some R28 billion of municipal revenue was foregone through inadequate collection measures and debtors control. There is an urgent need to review the model we use to fund local government, and to ensure better project and supply chain management.

This can only be achieved by ensuring that the best people are employed, regardless of political affiliation, and that our governments become more open and transparent. This is what the DA does where we govern, and what we hope to do in more and more places across South Africa after next year’s local government election.

Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 17 November 2015