Pretoria - In A new twist, Tshwane executive mayor Randall Williams has slammed Eskom’s decision to reveal the City’s R635 million electricity debt as “disingenuous”.
He also implied that the move was the result of unspecified ulterior motives.
While Williams conceded the debt existed, he said Eskom’s decision to go public about the matter was concerning because the City of Tshwane had made a commitment to settle the arrears at a meeting with the power utility on Tuesday.
This came after Eskom released a statement revealing that it had met with Williams and his leadership team as part of efforts to recover the R635m owed. It was due by January 18.
In a statement, Eskom further disclosed that the City of Tshwane’s payment patterns have been irregular over the past six months, and have contributed negatively to Eskom’s increasing overdue debt, which is in excess of R43.8 billion.
The power utility stated that over the past months, they had engaged the City on these irregular payments and the impact they have on Eskom’s ability to keep the lights on. Eskom added that the overdue debt had contributed negatively to its liquidity, financial performance and sustainability, forcing it to borrow to meet financial commitments.
Williams said: “Firstly, as of the end of December 2021, the City had fully paid its Eskom accounts. Currently, the City owes Eskom R635m for its current account, which we fully intend to pay, a commitment made to Eskom on Tuesday.
“The overall debt owed to Eskom currently stands at R43.8bn. An amount which, for example, includes almost R4bn owed by Emfuleni Local Municipality which goes back many years, along with various other municipalities across the country.
“We understand our responsibility to service our debts. However, it is important that we point out that our arrears with Eskom is less than 15 days old.”
He said Eskom’s decision to single out the City’s current account, despite the open commitment to settle it, was concerning and disingenuous.
Pretoria News