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Eskom cuts power to Dr Beyers Naude

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Dear MyPE

The people of Willomore, Jansenville and Steytlerville today find themselves without electricity because the ANC government of the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality have failed to honour their commitments to Eskom.

The municipality currently owes Eskom close on R95-million and has failed to remedy the breach of payment agreement, despite Eskom’s notice issued in October last year.

Today saw the beginning of the disruptions, with power switched off from 6am to 9am, and again from 5pm to 8:30pm. Next week the disruption is scheduled to escalate to 14 hours a day, from 6am to 8pm.

Hundreds of small businesses in these towns, who have bought and paid the municipality for the electricity they have used, will now be forced to close shop because the municipality did not pay the money over to Eskom.

The extended power cuts threaten other basic services, like water and sewage, as the pumps cannot function without electricity. Hospitals and clinics will be unable to provide healthcare.

Thousands of people from these towns will be forced to sit at home, without work, without water or basic sanitation. Children will be forced to go to school and sit in darkened classrooms.

The failing ANC has just turned their backs on the people of Dr Beyers Naude.

DA Shadow MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Vicky Knoetze (MPL), appealed to MEC Fikile Xasa, as well as the CEO of Eskom, Phakamani Hadebe, to urgently intervene in the matter.

There has been deliberations between stakeholders since Monday, but despite this, Eskom has begun with the disruptions. The DA has learnt that Eskom is requesting a payment of R27-million, for it to discontinue the interruptions.

We have submitted numerous proposals to the council in Dr Beyers Naude, including the selling off of infrastructure back to Eskom, but the failing ANC government simply refuses to implement these measures.

Rather than put the people of the municipality first, they continue to spend ringfenced funding on a bloated administration and look for handouts in the form of grants from the Sarah Baartman District Municipality to solve the problem.

These blackouts are killing jobs and making life harder for South Africans.

The DA has a plan to keep the lights on. It is time to take back the power from the ANC in the upcoming 8 May 2019 elections.

Regards

Nqaba Bhanga
DA EC Premier Candidate

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