The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality continues to sink deeper into the financial abyss with the municipality’s Eskom debt currently standing at more than R800 million.
Despite being granted relief under National Treasury’s Municipal Debt Relief Programme in December 2023, which conditionally writes off Eskom debt if strict financial and governance standards are met, the municipality is failing to comply with the required conditions.
Dr Beyers Naude’s debt to Eskom currently stands at a staggering R844 million, an increase of R106 million from April 2025. Under the terms of the debt relief programme the municipality is required to make monthly payments to remain compliant. Yet, between July and September 2025, it made only one payment of R2 million in August.
Over R400 million of this debt could be written off under the debt-relief programme, but that opportunity is slipping away because the municipality continuously fails to meet the compliance requirements. Through this inaction, the municipality is effectively throwing away hundreds of millions of rands in potential financial relief that could have been used to stabilise its finances and improve service delivery.
I have written to the Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury to request urgent intervention in the critical financial situation facing the municipality, which, if not addressed immediately, risks descending into total financial collapse.
Provincial Treasury must hold a meeting with the Mayor and Municipal Manager to agree on immediate measures to stabilise the municipality’s finances, ensure compliance with the debt-relief programme, and prevent collapse of essential services.
Dr Beyers Naude continues to fail in implementing effective credit-control measures, enforcing revenue collection, and, critically, ring-fencing the revenue generated from electricity payments.
Instead of ensuring that funds collected from residents for electricity are used solely to pay Eskom, the municipality appears to divert these revenues elsewhere, deepening its arrears and eroding public trust.
The residents of Dr Beyers Naude deserve better than a government that cannot keep the lights on, fix roads, or balance its books. Communities should not have to pay the price for leaders who treat public funds with such carelessness.
It is time for honest, transparent, and capable leadership that puts service delivery and fiscal responsibility first. Leadership that respects the rule of law, protects public funds, and restores stability to local government.