Residents of the Masilonyana Local Municipality (Brandfort, Soutpan, Theunissen, Verkeerdevlei, Winburg) may not be punished for non-payment to Eskom.
The FF Plus demands that the Free State MEC for Finance, Gadija Brown, and the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Thembeni Nxangisa, must find a way to honour the Municipality's payment agreement with Eskom so that residents will not have to suffer the planned restriction on electricity supply.
According to a notice issued by Eskom, residents will not have power between 06:00 and 20:00 every day as from the 15th of July.
Seeing as it is not paying off its debt as per the adopted payment agreement, the Municipality's conduct can only be described as reckless.
Similarly, Eskom should also ensure that municipal debt does not reach epic proportions before it takes such drastic steps.
The Free State government, which was supposed to see to it that the Masilonyana Municipality's dire situation improved under its Section 139 intervention, will now have to find and implement solutions quickly so that residents will not have to endure a cold and dark winter.
The FF Plus will monitor the situation and will continue to hold the ANC in the Free State accountable for its poor financial management.
Contact details: 076 629 6219
