The Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has hit back with confidence after Eskom announced that the electricity supply to Rand West City would be disrupted this festive season.
The Herald reported on Tuesday, 16 October that residents of Rand West City could expect an interruption of the electricity supply as of Wednesday, 27 November 2019 and beyond. This is due to RWCLM being indebted to Eskom in the amount of R235 621 979.
Read the initial article here:
Eskom to cut power to Rand West due to over R230 million debt
On Wednesday, 16 October, RWCLM released a statement in which they say they will make a payment to Eskom to avert the planned power outage scheduled between November and December.
Brenda Mahuma, the Executive Mayor said, “The municipality acknowledges that it owes Eskom R235 621 979 and will, as part of averting any electricity outage, continue to engage with Eskom and put in place a payment arrangement which we will seek to honour.”
She added that the municipality further acknowledges that the failure to honour the Eskom payments is the result of the poor monthly collection of rates and services from the community.
“Our poor collection record was compounded by the latest protest by employees of the municipality. We will be using the upcoming Integrated Development Planning (IDP) meetings to reflect on the financial status of the municipality and seek positive contributions from the community in an attempt to improve our financial state,” the Mayor said.
Mahuma went on to say the municipality will engage with the Gauteng Department of Treasury and the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to get financial assistance to repay its Eskom monthly debt.
“As the Executive Mayor of Rand West City, I want to assure the community that every possible action will be taken to avert the electricity outage,” Mahuma said.
