GP municipalities on track to have Eskom debt written off
The debt relief initiative, launched by the National Treasury and Eskom, aims to support municipalities struggling to pay their electricity bills.
Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey-Makhaza/Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG - Municipalities in Gauteng undergoing debt relief are on track to have portions of their debt to Eskom written off.
The debt relief initiative, launched by the National Treasury and Eskom, aims to support municipalities struggling to pay their electricity bills.
At a local government summit in Muldersdrift on Wednesday, Gauteng's Finance MEC, Lebogang Maile, provided an update on the progress of the debt relief process.
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Emfuleni, Rand West City, Mogale City, Lesedi and Merafong are the five municipalities that have applied to have their debt to Eskom written off.
Rand West recently had a third of its debt, amounting to nearly R300 million, scrapped.
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Maile said Lesedi and Merafong local municipalities are yet to meet the requirements to qualify for the debt relief programme.
"Emfuleni local municipality and Mogale City municipality are still undergoing assessments to determine if they will benefit from their first write-off," he said.
Last month, Eskom seized the bank accounts of the Emfuleni municipality, which owes the utility R8 billion, after it failed to comply with the debt relief programme.
This also resulted in the municipality paying employees their salaries late.