The legal action by residents in Bethal is supported by the FF+
The electricity problems only seem to worsen even with the intervention from the Gert Sibande District Municipality. Residents started legal action a while ago and the action was heard in court recently. The Judgement is still outstanding and is expected soon.
The FF Plus in Mpumalanga wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Bethal and eMzinoni residents who have applied to the court to hold the useless Govan Mbeki Local Municipality (GMM), which serves Bethal, Charl Cilliers, Embalenhle, Evander, Kinross, Leandra, Secunda and Trichardt, accountable for the current electricity crisis in this municipal area.
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The court proceedings, aimed at holding the GMM, the Gert Sibande District Municipality and Eskom accountable for the current electricity crisis as well as the failure to provide basic services to paying consumers, commenced on the 31st of August 2021.
Meanwhile, the GMM plans to continue its negotiations with Eskom on the 26th of September in an attempt to reach a settlement regarding the Municipality’s outstanding debt and to enter into a payment agreement.
“While the GMM is disputing that it owes Eskom R1,2 billion, on the one hand, Eskom, on the other hand, is refusing to increase Bethal and eMzinoni’s reported maximum demand,” said FF+ Cllr Aranda Nel-Buidendag, “As a result, residents sometimes do not have power for between four and 20 hours per day.”
The FF Plus in the GMM was one of the main political drives that frequently brought the matter to the attention of the media and also took the matter up in the provincial Legislature.
The party is giving its full support to GMM residents and will continue to put pressure on Mpumalanga’s Premier, Ms Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, to take decisive action and resolve the crisis.
It is an absolute shame that residents have to approach the court to compel a municipality to fulfil its duties towards taxpayers.
This serves to substantiate the FF Plus’s view that the current system of mega-cities and local municipalities, consisting of various towns, must be done away with. Local government must be brought closer to communities.
GMM residents must make use of the opportunity they have in the upcoming local government elections to stand up and stand with the FF Plus and send a loud and clear message to the ANC: Mismanagement and poor service delivery will not be tolerated.
