ELM must immediately pay back the almost 21% power increase it imposed dishonestly and under false pretences following a Gauteng High Court order last week reversing the predatory increases, organised business has demanded.
The tariff reversal by the High Court was an indictment of ELM acting Municipal Manager Dithaba Oupa Nkoane and Chief Financial Officer Andile Dyakala and both should be immediately suspended and disciplined due to their negligent handling of this and other issues, said the GTCoC.
The National Energy Regulator (Nersa) also accepted a late application by ELM, failed to hold public consultation and also seemingly accepted ELM’s false claim that it would fold financially due to 1987 preferential tariff agreements with Large Power Users (LPU’s) if the 21% increase was not granted.
According to the GTCoC, gross mismanagement by top ELM officials on a spectrum of governance issues led to the local authority “applying” for the 21% increases in the first place.
“What has happened here is a complete systemic failure to protect the public, business and the economy from predatory and unsustainable and unjustifiable power tariff increases. ELM misled Nersa and Nersa did not even follow its own procedures.
“A total systemic failure that we as the GTCoC were determined to reverse along with LPU’s and to also now ensure accountability from especially ELM,” said Klippies Kritzinger, GTCoC CEO.
No comment was available from ELM and spokesperson Stan Gaba said the judgment was being studied and a response would be issued at the appropriate time.
The High Court challenge was initiated by Lourens Swart of Vanderbijlpark law firm PSN after GTCoC Vice President Jaco Verwey started a business mobilisation project with LPU’s to reverse the predatory price increases imposed by ELM.
“This is a watershed court decision not only for Emfuleni, but for every municipality whose officials think they can act outside of the Law and legislation and get away with it.
“This is also proof that when business and the public stand together we can make a difference and this is indeed one of the main objectives of the GTCoC – to mobilise business and to be one voice,” said Verwey.
Court papers reveal the extent of deception by the ELM top structure to get huge increases past Nersa, which broke its own rules by accepting ELM’s late application months ago.
Nersa also did not bother to hear the views of LPU’s on the preferential agreements and therefore did not detect ELM deception in their massive tariff increase application application, especially since some of the LPU’s affected by 2019 increases were not even in existence in 1987, Mooivaal Media has established.
ELM also conveniently omitted to submit that LUP’s had created electricity infrastructure at their own cost whereas ELM had severely neglected to maintain and secure electricity infrastructure properly as its legal responsibility required.
The result from August was a massive increase in power costs for especially large Emfuleni and other businesses struggling with retrenchments – such as ArcelorMittal SA and Cape Gate – and created a major economic setback for residents and the entire region.
Dyakala and Nkoane are also both embroiled in the ELM meter replacement fiasco which has so far resulted in more than R60 million in revenue losses, vastly increased power theft and infrastructure damage in their attempt to replace the revenue-spinner BXCSA smart meter programme with read-only meters.
In addition to the R60 million and counting losses, Dyakala and Nkoane also paid an extra more than R3 million to BXCSA after the two officials failed to plan for the end of the smart meter contract and then triggered the ongoing crisis by summarily ending that as well, a Mooivaal Media investigation has established.
Nkoane is also linked to the massive R900 million Comperio corruption and unauthorised contract report and scandal with almost R40 million in lost revenue attributed to him personally in an irregular contract awarded by him to Mafoko Security Services.
The GTCoC has also demanded that both Dyakala and Nkoane be suspended and disciplined due to gross dereliction of duty and negligence on the smart meter replacement process.