The City of Tshwane is pinning its hope on the Minister of Electricity Kgosientso Ramokgopa to assist the metro with ways to settle the outstanding R6 billion debt it owes to Eskom.
This was the sentiment expressed by Mayor Nasiphi Moya yesterday during a joint media briefing with Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile in Sandton, where the pair met with delegations from the two institutions to deliberate on the state of finances and governance in Tshwane.
The meeting, according to Maile, also sought to make a comprehensive assessment of the role that the Gauteng Treasury should play in stabilising the finances of the City as a means of improving its audit outcomes and financial governance.
Parties expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the meeting, describing it as being “successful”.
Moya, however, said that her newly-formed political administration was more concerned about the City’s outstanding payment to Eskom for bulk power supply.
“We have started with a conversation with the Minister of Electricity (Kgosientso Ramokgopa) and we will share what the details are because we believe that if we deal with the issue of the Eskom debt we are going to alleviate a lot of pressure on the side of the fiscus of the city,” she said.
During the tabling of a motion to remove former Mayor Cilliers Brink last month, the ANC cited a staggering R6bn debt owed by the City to Eskom and Rand Water’s outstanding interest of R15 530 163 for the financial year 2022/23 as one of the motivating factors for showing him the door.
At the time, Brink said the City submitted a payment plan to Eskom in April “although that plan has not been accepted, the City has kept to it and exceeded our payment commitments”.
He said part of the plan was to pay the current Eskom bill for the three winter months when the Eskom bill to municipalities is significantly higher than in other seasons.
The City, it was said on Tuesday, was still struggling to collect revenues from defaulting customers with its debtors’ book still standing at R24 bn.
Early this year, the City disclosed that its aggressive revenue collection campaign called Tshwane Ya Tima was aimed to recover an amount of R23.3 bn owed by defaulting customers.
Maile said on X post: “We have received assurance from Executive Mayor Dr Moya that as part of ensuring that historically disadvantaged communities are equitably empowered, the administration will make some changes to the adopted 2024/2025 budget, in consultation with communities. These changes will be taken up during the budget adjustment period and will adhere to fiscal prudence and strategic prioritisation.”
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Pretoria News
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