Eskom payment relief for municipality
There is light at the end of the Eskom debt tunnel for the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality.
The municipality owes the power utility a whopping R800 million. This debt increased from R250 m in 2018 when Eskom threatened to suspend the electricity supply to the municipality.
According to Mayor Sechele Sebolai, Eskom has agreed to write off a third of all the arrears owed to Eskom on 31 March 2023 annually over three municipal financial years. This includes interest and penalties but excludes the March account of the current year. Eskom also agreed to suppress any interest in the municipality’s arrears. The interest charged on the money owed accounts for a large part of the debt.
Eskom will also stay in legal proceedings relating to the municipality’s arrears as of 31 March 2023.
The municipality will, however, have to stick to the covenant payment agreements.
This decision was reached after Eskom consulted with the national treasury and the municipality met the necessary conditions in accordance with the Municipal Finance Management Act for debt relief.
According to Sebolai, Eskom urged the municipality to encourage residents to pay for the services they receive.
“We need to do this to service our debt and continue delivering quality services,” he said.
