Eskom debt social media ‘rampage’ – Newcastle municipality sets the record straight
The false statement is now highly contested across social media, and the office of the Municipal Manager has since been inundated with calls for an explanation.
The Newcastle Municipality has hit back at what it calls distorted and untrue social media posts (Facebook and WhatsApp), which allege that the municipality is again failing to pay its previously eliminated ESKOM debt
The municipality also condemned what it called a false post that the council ‘had looted the funds and wanted to use them for their personal benefit’.
“The municipality denies such statements with the contempt it deserves,” the municipality said in a press statement.
“The municipality places on record that the ESKOM debt is paid every month and always on time.
“The municipality used a substantial portion of its equitable share to settle the arrears debt as part of its payment plan in July 2023, and due to the high winter tariffs that Eskom charges, the municipality could not pay the extra fees injected into the payment.
“The municipality has already paid R54-million in December; the current account and payment to service the outstanding debt will thereafter be paid every month.”
Eskom has been engaged to allow the municipality to settle the account like all other creditors; this is in line with Section 65 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
The municipality has been in talks with ESKOM to find a sustainable solution to this issue. As it stands, the municipality is currently billed for 125 MVA but consumes only a third of that electricity, which is on average only 92 MVA.
A request to reduce the supply of electricity to 100 MVA to avoid paying for the unused electricity to reduce costs was sent to ESKOM in September last year; to date, no feedback has been received.
“The municipality is dismayed and saddened that a different narrative has been purported in a bid to lobby for public sympathy.
“The false statement is now highly contested across social media, and the office of the Municipal Manager has since been inundated with calls for an explanation.
“The Newcastle Municipality remains an institution that cares for and prioritises the wellbeing of its community, whose aims and intentions are to ensure that all wards keep having electricity and therefore will not place the lives of its citizens in despair.
“The (municipal) Chief Financial Officer will continue to work hand in hand with the power utility Eskom in a bid to ensure that the electricity supply from Eskom to the municipality is reduced, that Eskom debt is paid within the stipulated time frame and that Newcastle lights are kept on for all residents to enjoy.
“The Newcastle Municipality urges the citizens of Newcastle to continue paying their municipal bills to allow their municipality to provide services.”
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