Almost a third of municipal debt belongs to just four municipalities, which each owe more than R10-billion. They are: Matjhabeng (Free State), Emfuleni (Gauteng), Emalahleni (Mpumalanga) and the City of Johannesburg (Gauteng). Together they owe more than R50-billion.

Municipalities owe the most money, R110.5-billion, to Eskom because they struggle to take in revenue for electricity used – billing systems are dysfunctional and illegal connections are rife. This means revenue has not been high enough to pay Eskom and repay the debt.

The National Treasury launched an Eskom debt relief programme in 2023. The idea was that municipalities’ debt would be written off over three years, as long as they met strict conditions, including paying their monthly electricity accounts and increasing their revenue collection through proper billing.

While some municipalities have benefited from it, more than 61 out of the 71 municipalities that signed up for the programme have failed to meet the conditions. “Persistent defaulters” are being removed from the programme.

Read the full GroundUp article here.