Pretoria – Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Des van Rooyen visited Mpumalanga on Thursday where he engaged the provincial leadership on their debt owed to power utility Eskom.
During his visit, the Minister urged the Emalahleni and Msukuligwa municipalities to pay their outstanding debt to Eskom. This as the municipalities failed to make the necessary arrangements with Eskom not to cut their power supply.
The provincial leadership, led by MEC for Cooperative Governance, Refilwe Mtshweni, expressed confidence in the engagements between national Cogta, the province and the affected municipalities.
The Emalahleni Municipality said it is committed to servicing its bulk electricity account to ensure that the community who pay for their services, either individuals or businesses, are not prejudiced by the interrupted power supply.
MEC Mtshweni expressed confidence in the engagements between national Cogta, the province and the affected municipalities.
“The Inter-Ministerial Task Team (IMTT) at the national level is continuing to consult and meet with all relevant stakeholders in an effort to find a lasting solution to the Eskom issues,” said Minister van Rooyen.
The Minister also expressed appreciation to Eskom for being open to discussions with all the municipalities like Emalahleni who are experiencing difficulties to pay their electricity account.
The meeting agreed that both the national and provincial departments will continue to support and work with the municipalities.
To this effect, a team was constituted to also assist to provide technical expertise and advice.
The meeting concluded that these departments and SOEs should be informed to pay for the services they are receiving from municipalities.
“We will continue to engage with all the stakeholders on this matter and other bulk accounts to ensure that services are provided to communities,” added the Minister.
Another meeting will be convened in the coming week, led by Premier David Mabuza to find a solution geared to ensuring that both municipalities are able to settle their bulk Eskom account.
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