Sol Plaatje must turn streetlights on for festive season
| by Christopher Phiri, Cllr – DA Caucus Leader, Sol Plaatje Municipality |
| Date: 01 September 2020 |
| Release: Immediate |
| Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English & Afrikaans from Christopher Phiri, Cllr. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is exerting pressure on Sol Plaatje Mayor, Patrick Mabilo, to urgently convene a meeting with the Eskom regional manager in Kimberley.This comes after a virtual finance meeting on the city’s ridiculously high electricity tariffs, was finally convened yesterday. This follows a no-show by Mayor Patrick Mabilo and Chief Financial Officer, Zahid Cader, and a number of ANC councillors, for the meeting that had initially been scheduled last week.At yesterday’s meeting, Cader remained adamant that Sol Plaatje’s mark-up is more akin to 27% as opposed to the 84% as announced by Eskom Chief Executive Officer, Andrẻ de Ruyter, which he said made Kimberley’s electricity the most expensive in the country.The DA, however, is not convinced.Kimberley residents are still paying a lot more for electricity than their counterparts who either purchase electricity directly from Eskom or who live in other, more affordable municipalities. This is unfair. There is absolutely nothing in Kimberley that warrants us paying exorbitant tariffs. We are by no means living in a luxury estate. Kimberley is a dilapidated, dying city. Given the disgusting state of our roads and services, we should in fact receive rates and tariff cuts just for continuing to put up with the rot in Sol Plaatje.While Mabilo was again absent for yesterday’s meeting, Cader offered a commitment that the Mayor would indeed meet with Eskom in the course of the week. However, the DA insists that all councillors form part of this meeting. Hence, we are insisting that an Urgent Special Council Meeting is scheduled for within the week.It is of utmost importance that, in getting to the bottom of Sol Plaatje’s electricity tariffs, there must be transparency from the very start.All figures and calculations must be presented in black and white. We need to physically see how Eskom works out the mark-up as opposed to Sol Plaatje. We need to have the assurance that what we are telling the residents of Kimberley is the truth, and that we are not complicit in a Sol Plaatje cover-up.At a time when life has become unbearably expensive, tariffs do matter. The DA will therefore not be misled by Sol Plaatje management. The bottom line is that our electricity is overpriced. It needs to be brought in line with the tariffs of the rest of the country, and it must reflect fairness and affordability. |
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