Senior ANC politician lies about cancelled Eskom debt

[Nat Quinn]

Senior ANC politician lies about cancelled Eskom debt

 

Gauteng Premier and ANC Gauteng chair Panyaza Lesufi has come under fire for claiming that outstanding electricity bills owed by residents in the province have been scrapped.

In a video posted to Twitter/X showing Lesufi talking at what appears to be an ANC election campaign event, the premier can be heard saying that “all” customer debts owing to Eskom “for years” had been scrapped.

“All the people that were owing Eskom for years…All those debts have now been officially scrapped… We’ve [the ANC] championed that. We are starting on a new slate, all of us,” Lesufi said.

Several X users — including popular South African account @Goolam — reposted the video and jokingly commented that people should not pay their outstanding Eskom bills.

While Lesufi appears to clarify that he is referring to debt owed by Eskom direct customers and not municipal debt, asserting that either had been cancelled would be false.

Lesufi has repeatedly called on Eskom to write off unpaid electricity bills, including billions owed by residents and businesses in Soweto.

Over the years, Eskom has written off parts of the Soweto debt but never the full amount.

In 2021, for example, Eskom wrote off R5.3 billion of Eskom’s R12.8 billion debt at the time, leaving an amount of R7.5 billion outstanding.

This practice has raised concern that it could create a culture of non-payment among electricity users, as there would appear to be no consequences for failing to pay bills.

Panyaza Lesufi, Premier of Gauteng

MyBroadband asked Eskom for comment on Lesufi’s latest claims but did not receive feedback from the utility by the time of publication.

In an interview with CapeTalk, Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage slammed Lesufi over his remarks, labelling them “irresponsible rhetoric”.

“Eskom is in a dire financial status, and it needs all the funds,” Duvenage said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has also labelled Lesufi’s comments “unapologetic” lies.

“All debt to Eskom has not been forgiven, nor can he claim that it has,” said Gauteng DA leader Solly Msimanga.

“The truth of the matter, as economists have long pointed out, is that large-scale debt relief, not unlike what Lesufi is punting, will lead Eskom into a deeper financial hole.”

“This is another hollow election promise that will only result in disappointment.”

Lesufi: a man of many promises

Msimanga also questioned how many of Lesufi’s previous promises had come to fruition.

“The people of Gauteng have been subjected to his lies time and time again — from panic buttons in every resident’s home, to a crime-busting campaign led by a ‘skilled’ group of green-clad law enforcers,” Msimanga said.

“Not one panic button has been installed, nor have we seen any skilled law enforcers come from his promise.”

“We have, however, seen a group of ‘crime wardens’ driving around in luxury cars, breaking the law with neither a constitutional mandate nor an idea of what they’re doing.

Msiminga said there was a serious disconnect between what Lesufi promised and reality. “Next, no doubt, he will flout free education and housing for all,” Msimanga said.

“If he cared about debt relief or anyone at all, he would have made good on his promise to ensure that Gauteng is the economic hub of South Africa.”

“Under his leadership, we have lost jobs, and he has made it near impossible for people to repay their debts to Eskom.”

Lesufi has also faced criticism over the fact that the e-toll scheme in Gauteng is still operational, despite his promise over a year ago that it would be shut down.

One of his most recent bold plans is for Gauteng to go cashless by April 2024 to help clamp down on cash-in-transit heists.

Solly Msimanga, DA leader in Gauteng

The premier also told the Gauteng Energy Indaba in August 2023 that National Treasury had paid off a part of Eskom’s debt.

This refers to the money Eskom owes its creditors, not the money consumers or third-party electricity distributors owe the utility.

The government has yet to take over this debt —  and it comes with a range of stringent conditions that Eskom must comply with.

National Treasury has also launched a municipal electricity debt write-off programme as part of its takeover of Eskom’s debt.

The deadline for applying for that programme closed on 31 October 2023, and National Treasury confirmed that 67 municipalities that collectively owed Eskom R56.8 billion had applied for the relief.

36 of these municipalities have already been approved for the write-off.

However, Eskom may only write off one-third of a municipality’s arrear debt, interest and penalties as of March 2023, provided the municipality complies with 14 strict conditions for twelve consecutive months.

A municipality must comply with all the conditions for 36 months to qualify for a full debt write-off.

Among the conditions for the write-off of municipal debt are the following:

• Maintain a minimum average collection and use electricity and water as collection tools.

• If the municipality collects less than 80% of its revenue during any quarter, it must demonstrate that the failure relates to Eskom-supplied areas, technical engineering inability to restrict water supply, or Eskom SDA refusal.

• It must ring-fence all electricity, water, and sanitation revenue collected. It must pay the Eskom current account and the bulk water current account before any other monthly payments.

• Progressively install smart prepaid meters. All new connections must be smart prepaid.

• There is a 3-year restriction on any municipal borrowing.

• Phase-in cost-reflective tariffs.

• Ensure spending fully aligns with realistically anticipated revenue collection.

 

SOURCE:Senior ANC politician lies about cancelled Eskom debt (mybroadband.co.za)

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