Johannesburg - The Msukaligwa (Ermelo) municipality, in Mpumalanga, will meet with Eskom to prevent it from cutting power to the town, it said on Thursday.
“The executive mayor and the municipal mayor will meet Eskom tomorrow (Friday). I don't want to pre-empt anything,” municipal spokesman Mandla Zwane said.
Eskom spokeswoman Hilary Joffe could be immediately reached for comment.
Civil rights group AfriForum said Eskom had published a notice that the provision of power to the municipality would cease on April 25, because the municipality owed it R65 million.
“This is a typical situation where the municipality failed to honour its obligation to Eskom, even though residents paid their municipal accounts,” AfriForum official Ivan Herselman said.
“Yet, residents will now be disadvantaged by the disconnection of electricity. We have to protect our branch members as best we can against the incompetence of their local municipality.”
Herselman said AfriForum planned to approach the courts on behalf of its Ermelo branch, to oppose the disconnection. - Sapa