Eskom attaches Emfuleni assets over R8b debt
A series of broken promises over payment forces Eskom to attach Emfuleni assets, again!
VANDERBIJLARK – Serial non-payer, Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), has yet again had its four bank accounts attached by power utility Eskom in a bid to recover R8b owed to it.
Eskom on Wednesday confirmed the move in a media statement saying it had to take the extreme measures due to (ELM’s) multiple breaches of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) 124 Debt Relief programme. The Debt Relief programme was supposed to help the municipality to better manage its finances while still paying Eskom the money owed.
However, following the municipality’s failure to keep its side of the agreement, Eskom in July decided it had enough and subsequently notified both the National Treasury and ELM of its intention to remove the municipality from its Debt Relief programme.
“The municipality failed to comply with the requirements of the National Treasury Debt Relief programme. The attachment of the bank accounts ensure that the money collected for electricity is paid directly to Eskom,” the power utility said, adding that it had exhausted all legal and mediation avenues to secure payment for services rendered since 2018.
This is not the first time that Eskom has had to take radical steps to force ELM to pay its dues. In late 2022, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ordered that the power utility could attach ELM assets following its failure to settle its accounts and arrears with Eskom. The parastatal had also approached the courts in September 2021 to ensure ELM paid what it owed for bulk electricity.
The amount owed by ELM for bulk electricity represents approximately 10% of the total R82b owed by municipalities and places the Vanderbijlpark-headquartered Emfuleni among the top three municipalities in debt to Eskom.
Municipal debt remains one of Eskom’s biggest challenges. As of the end of March 2024, municipal arrears topped R74b, with an increase of approximately R15.9b during the last financial year (2023/2024).
Eskom stressed the importance of its customers, particularly municipalities, in paying their accounts and arrears on time, saying the ELM’s failure to pay compromises the utility’s financial stability and its ability to provide affordable electricity.
