Premier Zamani Saul needs to make good on commitments and address Victoria West water crisis
| by Christopher Phiri, Cllr – DA Caucus Leader, Sol Plaatje Municipality |
| Date: 15 September 2020 |
| Release: Immediate |
| While Sol Plaatje municipality continues to dispute the controversial 84% mark-up on electricity tariffs, Eskom has stood by the submission made by chief executive officer, Andrẻ de Ruyter, almost a month ago, that Kimberley has the most expensive electricity in the country.This came to light during an informal council meeting that took place in Kimberley today, whereby the municipality confirmed that it had received a written response from Eskom. The response comes after Sol Plaatje queried de Ruyter’s recent statement regarding the reported 84% mark-up.Sol Plaatje claims their mark-up on household electricity is closer to a 36,2% mark-up than an 84% mark-up and gives no indication of their mark-up for businesses, which is apparently where the 84% mark-up comes into play.Almost four weeks after the damning exposẻ of Kimberley’s sky-high tariffs, one would expect Sol Plaatje to be in a position to either admit to having ridiculous tariffs, or to be able to dispute the submissions by laying all the facts on the table. Sol Plaatje, however, has managed to do neither.This raises concerns regarding the chronic maladministration of electricity in Sol Plaatje municipality over the years.It also raises concerns regarding an ongoing lack of transparency, that stills sees the ANC-run municipality failing to take all councillors into its confidence. This lack of transparency was seen in the municipality’s unjustified decision to refuse journalists access to the informal council meeting today. It was also seen in the move by ANC Mayor, Patrick Mabilo, to sideline opposition councilllors, by failing to include us in a meeting that was convened with Eskom over a fortnight ago. The DA has been calling for such a meeting for two weeks already. For us to only learn about this meeting today, is completely unacceptable and smacks of a further cover-up.Given that Sol Plaatje leadership and management cannot be taken on their word, we don’t want to hear any more excuses from Sol Plaatje. Instead, we need to hear straight from the horse’s mouth. The DA therefore today reiterated our demand for a council meeting to take place between all councillors and Eskom.At the same time, we are challenging Mayor Patrick Mabilo to publish the written letter from Eskom on the 84% mark-up. All residents of Kimberley have a right to see this letter. If Mabilo does not share this letter with the public, it will only further confirm our suspicions of a further high-level conspiracy that has taken root in Sol Plaatje.The DA is continuing with our fact-finding mission relating to Sol Plaatje’s electricity tariffs and is committed to pursuing this matter until we have the assurance that residents and businesses are being charged fairly and transparently for power usage. |
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