Emfuleni local municipality says its residents should not worry about the court decision which allows Eskom to attach its assets as this is being appealed.
Emfuleni spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni said it was disturbing for Eskom to inform the public that it had secured a decision to attach its assets while knowing that the matter had not been finalised.
“It is our view that we are currently at the Supreme Court of Appeal with Eskom on this matter. We believe Eskom has jumped the gun by going to court without following the inter-governmental relations process as facilitated by the provincial government. We appealed at the SCA last week and now Eskom has resorted to taking the fight to the media.
“We strongly condemn these actions by the power utility and further advice our sister counterparts in the power utility to desist from this. Emfuleni residents must rest assured that the municipality’s bank account is currently operational and we will take Eskom to court should they continue with their attachment threats,” Sangweni said.
He added that the court has set a date for appeal to be heard on October 11 2023.
On Monday, Eskom released a statement announcing that the Pretoria High Court has granted an order for the power utility to attach Emfuleni assets worth R1.3bn as the council had failed to pay its debt.
Eskom said it has started execution steps against the municipality to recover some of the municipality debt, including attaching the local authority’s bank accounts and movable assets.
Emfuleni municipality, in Vanderbijlpark, is currently indebted to Eskom to the amount of R5.3bn.
Sangweni said the municipality has paid R1.2bn of its debt and added that the interest on the historical debt is too high at over R900m.
He added that large power users in the municipality are paying directly to Eskom which has an impact on the finances of the municipality as they get nothing on the power supplied.
On Thursday, provincial government, Eskom and Emfuleni are expected to meet to discuss the current debt crisis.
dlaminip@sowetan.co.za
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