Public protector launches urgent intervention after DA uncovers looming electricity disconnection for up to one million Free State residents
DA question in Parliament reveals Free State electricity crisis caused by more than R109-million backlog in electricity payments from ANC municipalities
Urgent intervention required from national and provincial governments





Urgent intervention is necessary to avert the crisis facing municipalities across the Free State, should Eskom follow through with its warning that it will cut power to municipalities that have not paid their electricity bills. On Tuesday this week I was informed that 11 municipalities in the Free State - covering 54 towns and about one million people - face electricity disconnection, after I made enquiries with Eskom about rumours that were circulating in the province over a possible disconnection.

Eskom is calling the disconnection an "action of last resort", and has now advised on the need for these towns to "make alternative arrangements, as the [electricity] supply will be disconnected on 20 July 2010 if no settlement has been reached between Eskom and the Municipalities regarding the arrear debt."

Upon receiving this letter, I immediately contacted the Public Protector, the Premier of the Free State, the Minister of Energy, the Provincial Treasury and the Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance, requesting urgent intervention, due to the implications that the disconnection would have on the communities in the affected municipalities. Subsequently, following this action by the Democratic Alliance:

• I have this morning been informed by the Public Protector's office in the Free State that a thorough and urgent investigation will be launched by the Office of the Public Protector into the matter.
• I have, yesterday, been informed that the matter is now receiving "attention" from the Provincial Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and that "feedback will be provided".

The municipalities which would be affected by these notices are Mangaung, Matjhabeng, Moghaka, Ngwathe, Dihlabeng, Naledi, Kopanong, Mohokare, Mafube, Masilonyana and Nala.

According to a parliamentary reply received yesterday from a question submitted by my colleague Dr Manie Van Dyk, MP, the total amount owed by municipalities and metros across the country is R 162.8-million, of which approximately R109.3-million appears to be owed by the particular ANC municipalities that now face having their electricity disconnected. However, I have also been informed by separate sources that the debt alone in the Free State stands at R180-million, which raises questions about the veracity of the minister's response.

There is no reason why the residents of these municipalities and towns should suffer as a result of incompetence on the part of these ANC-run local governments to pay their electricity bills. This is no minor oversight and is damning for those charged with the administration of the affected areas, as it demonstrates a startling inability to deal with one of the most basic functions of governance for their constituents.

A complete electricity disconnection for these towns would have a crippling effect on the Free State. Intervention at this stage is absolutely imperative, and it is now for the ANC administrations, both in the national and provincial spheres, to act right away.