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AfriForum today obtained an urgent court interdict in Pretoria, which prohibits the Msukaligwa Municipality from cutting the power supply to the Ermelo community.
The Ermelo Chamber of Commerce approached AfriForum for assistance after the municipality had installed new electricity meters and those yielded inaccurate and excessive readings. The Ermelo Chamber of Commerce has approximately 180 members, including restaurants, schools and local businesses.
According to Werner Human of the law firm, Hurter Spies Inc. (acting as AfriForum’s legal advisors) members of the chamber of commerce, including schools and local businesses, received notice that their electricity supply would be suspended as of today (16 August). “Despite the many disputes it received, the municipality still prefers to cut the power supply rather than resolving the community’s disputes,” Human said. “It shows that the municipality would rather have learners being without power at schools, than addressing the disputes,” he added.
“The Msukaligwa Municipality is facing many more challenges other than the current electricity crisis, and these also need to be addressed. It is precisely because of the existence of this type of challenge in local government, as well as the fact that a watchful eye should be kept on local government affairs, among other things, that AfriForum branches are being established in communities,” AfriForum’s Mpumalanga spokesperson, Ivan Herselman, added.
The court ruled that the power supply to the Ermelo community may not be cut, and that the municipality has to discuss the aggrieved parties’ objections with them within two weeks. It furthermore stipulates that until the dispute was resolved only 30% of the faulty accounts would be payable as a first payment.
AfriForum welcomes the outcome.