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Still no agreement with Eskom for Merafong to stop electricity cuts
By this week, the Merafong municipality had still not reached an agreement with Eskom that would stop daily electricity cuts from being implemented in Merafong next month. Many residents were shocked when Eskom published a notice in the Herald saying the municipality owes the power utility millions in arrears and, therefore, from 25 October, it …
Many residents were shocked when Eskom published a notice in the Herald saying the municipality owes the power
utility millions in arrears and, therefore, from 25 October, it would be cutting the power supply to all towns in the Merafong City Local Municipality that are supplied by Eskom.
During the week, the DA’s constituency head for Merafong, Ms Ina Cilliers, released a press release stating that the
municipality currently owes Eskom R129 million and Rand Water R50 million respectively and that the outstanding
amounts are growing steadily.
By Tuesday, there were warnings from an unknown source on social media, claiming that Merafong’s water and
lights may even be ‘switched off any day from now’.
In an attempt to find out more, the Herald spoke to a national spokesperson of Eskom, Ms Dikatso Mothae, on
Tuesday. She assured that, while the municipality had still not made the necessary arrangements, the electricity
cuts would not happen soon.
‘Towns in Merafong are still up for interruptions towards the end of October but we are hopeful that ongoing negotiations between Eskom and the municipality can prevent this,’ she said.
The spokesperson for Rand Water, Ms Justice Mohale, was less helpful, however. She bluntly refused to answer
any questions and referred the matter back to the municipality. Although Merafong previously gave the impression
that the situation was under control, it has now acknowledged that the current financial issues ‘will remain a reality in the municipal area for the foreseeable future.’
The spokesperson did not answer a direct question about what the current situation is with regard to the payments
to the two utilities or how far residents are from lights and water cuts.
Instead, he again explained the reasons for the current financial crisis and said it ‘is doing its utmost to recover all
debt in order to improve its financial situation.’
‘The current situation remains a reality in the foreseeable future. It requires the careful management of the limited
resources available. It is, therefore, not a new situation every time Ms Cilliers issues a press release.
utility millions in arrears and, therefore, from 25 October, it would be cutting the power supply to all towns in the Merafong City Local Municipality that are supplied by Eskom.
During the week, the DA’s constituency head for Merafong, Ms Ina Cilliers, released a press release stating that the
municipality currently owes Eskom R129 million and Rand Water R50 million respectively and that the outstanding
amounts are growing steadily.
By Tuesday, there were warnings from an unknown source on social media, claiming that Merafong’s water and
lights may even be ‘switched off any day from now’.
In an attempt to find out more, the Herald spoke to a national spokesperson of Eskom, Ms Dikatso Mothae, on
Tuesday. She assured that, while the municipality had still not made the necessary arrangements, the electricity
cuts would not happen soon.
‘Towns in Merafong are still up for interruptions towards the end of October but we are hopeful that ongoing negotiations between Eskom and the municipality can prevent this,’ she said.
The spokesperson for Rand Water, Ms Justice Mohale, was less helpful, however. She bluntly refused to answer
any questions and referred the matter back to the municipality. Although Merafong previously gave the impression
that the situation was under control, it has now acknowledged that the current financial issues ‘will remain a reality in the municipal area for the foreseeable future.’
The spokesperson did not answer a direct question about what the current situation is with regard to the payments
to the two utilities or how far residents are from lights and water cuts.
Instead, he again explained the reasons for the current financial crisis and said it ‘is doing its utmost to recover all
debt in order to improve its financial situation.’
‘The current situation remains a reality in the foreseeable future. It requires the careful management of the limited
resources available. It is, therefore, not a new situation every time Ms Cilliers issues a press release.
‘The circumstances have been the same for the past two years but she repeatedly uses the municipality’s financial situation to scare the community and reflect negatively on the institution.
‘The municipality has committed itself to communicating directly with the Merafong communities if and when the
situation has a negative impact on our residents and that still stands,’ he concluded.
