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The DA demands that power utility Eskom urgently clarify its plan to recoup the R10.2 billion debt it is owed after Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown, secured a temporary reprieve for defaulting municipalities.

The DA is deeply concerned that millions of people across South Africa will be left without the electricity needed for important services, such as health care. Power cuts will also destroy local economies and result in job losses.

Despite this crisis looming for some time, Eskom has tip-toed around, providing little details on its plans, including the criteria it uses for determining when a municipality will be shut-down, how much time they will be given to pay-back, and how generous they will be with their reprieve.

This will only result in further uncertainty – a disastrous consequence for the local economy.

That is why we urgently need a full briefing by Eskom acting CEO, Matshela Koko, on the current electricity crisis in municipalities.

Shamefully, a vital meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises and Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, to be held on 26 January 2017, was cancelled so that ANC members could attend an internal party Lekgotla.

The DA will not give up on our efforts to have Eskom appear before Parliament to update millions of affected residents on the crisis before us. We have therefore again submitted our request for a joint meeting, proposing that the meeting be scheduled on the 25th, a day sooner. This should assist the ANC with their ‘critical’ NEC Lekgotla, which seemingly is more important than service delivery and job creation in towns across South Africa.

We now look forward to a speedy response.

Issued by DA