The power utility says it has filed an application for leave to appeal the Free State High Court judgment which yesterday ruled in favour of the municipality. The court ordered that the attachment of the bank account of Maluti-A-Phofung be lifted immediately. 

OFM News previously reported that the power utility attached the bank account of the municipality in efforts to recover over R5.4 billion owed to them. The utility’s spokesperson in the province, Stefanie Jansen van Rensburg, said this step was as a result of the municipality's repeated failure to adhere to its payment obligations in the execution of a court order granted in 2018 - as well as in the implementation of Eskom’s revenue recovery plan.

Jansen van Rensburg says they will continue taking all legal avenues to ensure the outstanding municipal debt is recovered.

“The municipality’s continuous non-payment of their current account is resulting in a further escalation of their overdue debt and poses a serious threat to Eskom’s financial viability and the survival of the utility. The increasing debt owed by Maluti-A-Phofung forces Eskom to take drastic steps to address this undeniable risk”.

Free State municipalities collectively owe the power utility over R12 billion, making it the province with the highest debt and one with the highest number of defaulting municipalities. Of the R12 billion owed by municipalities in the province, Maluti-A-Phofung and Matjhabeng account for over 50% of the debt.

OFM News