This, as Eskom threatens to cut power supply to the metro and other local municipalities in the Free State due to non-payment. The power utility has announced its plans to interrupt power supply as of 3 December to the metro as well as to Mafube and Mantsopa Municipality, should they fail to make payment arrangements prior to the cut-off date. The power utility’s spokesperson in the Free State, Stefanie Jansen van Rensburg, said the planned interruptions are a result of the municipalities’ failure to honour their payment conditions and is a means to reduce their escalating debt. The DA’s shadow minister of Cogta, Cilliers Brink, meanwhile says Dlamini-Zuma “cannot wring her hands as Mangaung collapses” and urgently needs to intervene

The call for Dlamini-Zuma to take action comes as the power utility is today convening a meeting with Centlec and the provincial Cogta department.

Municipalities in the province collectively owe the power utility over R9.8 billion, making the Free State the province with the highest Eskom debt countrywide.

Municipalities in the province, including the infamous Maluti-A-Phofung, which alone owes Eskom nearly R4 billion, are also in the red with their water boards.

Eskom said Mangaung owes it more than R170 million while Mafube owes R52 million and Mantsopa R205 million.

Brink has in a statement highlighted that “Centlec, a municipal entity responsible for electricity reticulation in Mangaung and surrounding areas, owes Eskom about R100 million. Both Mangaung and Centlec received qualified audit opinions for the 2017/18 financial year, and there are also strong indications that Mangaung has misappropriated R349 million worth of conditional grants received from national government”.

He said they are expecting Dlamini-Zuma to attend to the issues faced by the metro with urgency.

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