SEDIBENG.- The African National Congress (ANC) Alliance partners in Sedibeng have called for an immediate end to what they call Eskom’s selective ‘bullying tactics’ which led to the attachment of the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s (ELM) bank accounts, resulting in thousands of workers being deprived of their salaries for September.
The partners, which include the South African Communist Party (SACP), the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), convened on Monday at the ANC Sedibeng Regional Headquarters, Duma Nokwe House in Vereeniging.
The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss the recent actions taken by Eskom. The national power supplier recently attached ELM’s four bank accounts due to an outstanding electricity debt of R8 billion.
“It appears that Eskom is overly aggressive in pursuing payments from ELM while engaging in negotiations with other defaulters. Furthermore, ELM employees should not bear the burden of Eskom’s conflicts with the municipality.”
The meeting concluded that Eskom’s persistent legal actions to attach ELM’s accounts are counterproductive and unjust, serving only to punish the municipality and its workforce.
“The Alliance is aware that the ELM is part of the National Treasury’s Municipal Debt Relief Programme, which prohibits Eskom from initiating any legal actions as long as the ELM meets its minimum obligations, which we believe it is fulfilling. While timely payment of the current account is important, it represents just one of the conditions the ELM must satisfy to remain under the Debt Relief Programme.”
The Alliance partners said that they also noted the ongoing negative impacts of Eskom’s financial attachments on the ELM’s ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate of providing essential services to its millions of residents.
“This unfair action has hindered the municipality’s capacity to collect refuse and procure fuel for vital services, including the fire department.”
Additionally, the Alliance partners have called for strengthening management competencies at the ELM where necessary, as well as implementing accountability measures for officials implicated in acts of mismanagement or malfeasance.
