Johannesburg - The Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee has welcomed a proposal by the premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, to have Soweto’s electricity debt scrapped.
Lesufi has made public utterances lobbying for Soweto’s debt to be completely scrapped. The township owes Eskom close to R5 billion, but Lesufi said the scrapping of this debt would enable residents to start with a clean slate.
Lesufi was also advocating for the expunging of electricity debt for other townships and hostels. He said this was essential for the development of black communities.
Trevor Ngwane, a leader of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, welcomed the pronouncements made by Lesufi.
"We welcome this view, and this is something that we have also called for. Eskom has a social mandate to carry out, and we also have to be aware that our people are unemployed," Ngwane said.
Ngwane said Soweto’s debt should be critically examined. He said, in some instances, Eskom had not been maintaining some of its infrastructure in the townships, which also discouraged residents from keeping up with the payments.
He called on Eskom to stick to its social mandate and come up with strategies that would ensure that the poor received electricity regardless of their economic standing.
"The finance minister announced that they are going to bail out Eskom. I would be happier if the matter were addressed comprehensively to address the underlying matter," Ngwane said.
Ngwane said the ANC was under pressure to deal with the problems that affect ordinary South Africans. He said Lesufi’s utterances on Eskom showed that he was trying to mend relations with Gauteng residents who felt betrayed by the ANC.
Meanwhile, Ngwane said he had noted a plan by the ANC in Johannesburg to have Soweto’s electricity supplied by City Power.
The Star