An Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)-led municipality has made a final payment to settle its R60 million debt to power utility, Eskom, while many councils across the country are still deep in debt.
The AbaQulusi Local Municipality in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, paid the last instalment of R8 million to Eskom in December, following a struggle since 2018 to honour payment arrangements.
Former cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube consequently placed the municipality under a ministerial representative because of the Eskom debt and other governance and financial management weaknesses that were identified.
AbaQulusi’s acting mayor, Mncedisi Maphisa, said that the council had to make sacrifices while ensuring that services were delivered. These sacrifices included: