Renosterberg suffers double-blow of ANC mismanagement & Eskom experiment

10 January 2022

As a new type of ANC-induced municipal crisis emerges in Renosterberg, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is trying our best to support the running of essential services via hands-on interventions. This is, however, unsustainable, prompting the DA to appeal to the Premier to stop ignoring the crisis in his hometown of Van Der Kloof.

The latest disaster stems from Renosterberg’s failure to pay workers, following Eskom’s move to have the municipal bank account frozen due to account arrears. This, as Eskom is prevented by the courts from cutting electricity supply.

As Eskom uses Renosterberg as a Guinea pig, thanks to the ANC-run municipality’s own failures, it is the unpaid staff and residents who suffer.

Municipal staff embarked on a strike on Friday that saw water supply cut. The DA speedily intervened, physically ensuring valves were opened and remained open. Following negotiations, we since received support from certain staff, who have agreed to assist with some essential services, but we are concerned that this will not be sustainable.

While we appreciate SAMWU’s attempts to force the municipality to comply with simple contractual obligations, we do not agree with their call for another Section 139(1)(c) intervention. Such an intervention already occurred in August 2020 and had disastrous repercussions because of the ANC’s insistence on making use of incompetent cadres instead of competent officials. This was the case with former Municipal Manager Morné Hoogbaard, who had been successfully managing the Eskom account and who would have averted this crisis, had he not been unjustifiably replaced by the ANC.

The Renosterberg situation is a bitter mix of years of ANC mismanagement, aggravated by the country’s electricity crisis. While the best solution is a non-ANC government, this must now be put on the backburner, as the people have already voted.

In the meantime, an urgent, high-level intervention is required of Dr Zamani Saul. He should not only bring an end to the growing tendency of non-payment of staff by ANC institutions but, together with COGHSTA, ensure that the municipality services its debt.

It is also necessary that, together with national government, Saul urgently mitigates the potentially devastating impact of Eskom’s new weapon of mass disruption by way of frozen bank accounts. If not immediately addressed, this could wreak further havoc on Renosterberg and other municipalities in the province.

Issued by Matt Posthumus, Councillor, Renosterberg Municipality, 10 January 2021