Gauteng citizens have expressed disappointment with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and his failure to address the municipal debt crisis, which threatens to plunge the communities into darkness.
Godongwana was blocked from presenting his Budget Speech last week after a revolt over a VAT increase by Government of National Unity ministers, but Treasury has released the minister's proposed budget speech publicly.
The citizens claim that the minister's budget document failed to highlight the measures that could be implemented to address the Eskom debt facing various municipalities across the country.
The national treasury document has revealed that currently, 47 municipalities are failing to meet their financial obligations to Eskom, even after receiving debt relief. This has led to widespread load shedding and load reduction, which disrupts businesses, cripple industries, and negatively impact households. Without stable electricity, economic growth is stunted, small businesses suffer, and job losses increase.
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Joburg resident Lebo Twala expressed concerns about the lack of transparency in municipal operations. Twala emphasizes that the municipality is not open enough to talk about the debt that is being left for future generations. She said that the government cannot expect the residents to pay off the debt as most households are headed by pensioners.
“The problem is that revenue collection is not properly managed. The municipality needs to fix its own house first before expecting people to pay,”
Gabisile Mbatha, who bakes and sells cakes at the Bree Taxi Rank, says that the government must implement new strategies to help municipalities settle their debts with Eskom because load shedding is a crisis and their businesses are suffering when there is no electricity.
“I own a bakery and my business is always slow when there are power outages. The government needs to intervene and address this municipal debt crisis,” said Mbatha
A Johannesburg resident Tumelo Mokoena said that municipalities need to regulate electricity usage better. He said that the municipalities need to address the illegal electricity connections to reduce the high electricity consumption.
“For example, there are areas where people use electricity for free. That increases consumption, which means more costs and more debt” said Mokoena
Godongwana’s proposed budget speech revealed that 11 municipalities have met conditions for debt relief and had a third of their Eskom debt written off; however, more needs to be done.
A revised budget will be presented in March.
IOL