The departmental spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, tells OFM News they do not want to involve themselves in blame games but maintain the lack of reliable electricity supply to the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital in QwaQwa is not of the Health Department’s doing.

Mvambi further vehemently refuted allegations that the hospital has had to rely on candles to keep the hospital located in Phuthaditjhaba alight. He says the hospital has purchased a generator to keep the hospital going. This is, however, not without its own challenges. “What we have is a generator that is supposed to be running for four hours. When that generator is stretched for too long, it may affect services.” Mvambi says the department and hospital staff are doing their part by continuing to attend to patients and switching off the generator for refuelling. He says despite their efforts, the hospital cannot continue to run on a generator frequently as it really is for emergencies, “we need the reliable provision of electricity to the hospital”.

Issues affecting Maluti-A-Phofung’s supply of electricity 

 While Mvambi would not go into detail on the provision of electricity to the area, the municipality’s electricity issues have been reported on widely by local media. Maluti-A-Phofung not only battles to settle its mammoth near R3 billion debt to Eskom but is continuing the fight against cable theft which has added to its woes.

In March 2019 OFM News reported the Maluti-A-Phofung recovery plan, drafted by a consultative committee, is currently being put into action with an electricity audit among the things first up in the plan. The audit was meant to ascertain what factors have compounded the municipality’s debt to Eskom. It is yet to be determined if the audit has been completed and what it revealed.

The court challenge by the Harrismith Business Forum

In October 2018, the Free State High Court ordered that Eskom’s plans to cut power supply to the Free State municipality be suspended indefinitely in accordance with an agreement made between the applicants, led by the Harrismith Business Forum and the 13 government respondents, which include Eskom, Ministers of Energy, Finance, Public Enterprises and President Cyril Ramaphosa on the matter.

Maluti-A-Phofung’s debt to Eskom and the utility’s subsequent threats to cut supply prompted the Harrismith Business Forum and thirteen other businesses to approach the courts for assistance. They said the planned interruptions threatened the future of the business community in the area. The High Court further ordered that the respondents from Provincial and National government must form a “consultative committee” whose purpose is to map out a recovery plan for this municipality. This committee is made up of representatives from the government as well as the business community.

The Harrismith Business Forum has expressed its concerns about the feasibility of the plan, threatening to go back to the Bloemfontein High Court should the plan prove to be a failure.

OFM News