Bloem also ordered the municipality to keep separate financial statements, including a balance sheet, of its electricity reticulation business.
The judge also said the municipality’s financial statements must disclose monthly revenue received in respect of the supply of electricity and the extent to which such revenue is appropriated to pay Eskom in terms of the payment plan.
According to the payment plan, the municipality will pay Eskom R900,000 every month.
In December, Enoch Mgijima municipality in the Eastern Cape was hauled before the high court in Makhanda by the Border-Kei Chamber of Commerce and businesses including petrol stations, a soft-drink company and a dairy.
The municipality faced blackouts due to an R265m debt owed to Eskom.
The court ordered, by agreement between the parties, that a debt and payment agreement previously reached between the municipality and Eskom become an order of the court. In exchange, Eskom undertook to supply electricity to the municipality, except during load-shedding.
In 2018, the Koster Ratepayers Association was granted an interdict allowing it to take control of the municipality’s water and refuse systems. At the same time, the high court in Pretoria ordered Eskom to halt its plans to cut the town’s electricity because the municipality owed it R49m.
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Article source: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-06-26-court-tells-eastern-cape-council-to-start-paying-its-r127m-eskom-debt/