Municipalities owe Eskom billions
Municipalities around the country are said to owe Eskom around R10 billion.
Eskom is said to be owed a whopping R10 billion by municipalities around the country.
This was revealed by the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Pravin Gordhan in a written response to a parliamentary question asked by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
According to Gordhan, Gauteng municipalities owe Eskom R3,4 billion while KwaZulu-Natal municipalities owed R1,27 billion. The power utility also is owed R650 million by the Eastern Cape municipalities while the Free State owes R1,5 billion.
These are but some of the amounts owed and according to media reports, the Director of South African Local Government Research Centre Clive Keegan says that the problem emanates from the fact that municipalities are failing to collect revenue from residents.
Meanwhile, the Randfontein Local Municipality and Westonaria Local Municipality are owing the power utility more than R50 million individually – this is their portion in the R3,4 billion owed by Gauteng municipalities.
