The embattled Emfuleni local municipality has filed an urgent court application to stop Eskom from attaching its movable assets due to unpaid debt.
On Thursday, officials from the office of the sheriff attached the municipality’s assets after the power utility obtained an R1.3-billion judgment against indebted Emfuleni.
According to the municipality, Eskom acted regardless of a pending judgment of a special leave to appeal at the supreme court.
Makhosonke Sangweni, Emfuleni communications manager, said it is an open secret that the municipality has challenges with servicing the Eskom account. However, the municipality said when Eskom resorted to attaching the movable assets, the aim was to embarrass the municipality.
Sangweni added that the municipality previously requested an urgent meeting with Eskom to discuss its payment history, conduct a thorough assessment of its future payments, and talk about a proposal about a partnership for existing infrastructure, revenue, and expenditure.
“A certain Dan Ramase acknowledged receipt of our proposals on behalf of Eskom via e-mail, this marked our last formal correspondence with Eskom, until to date, when they decided to surprise us with their controversial attachment aimed at embarrassing the municipality,” said Sangweni.
“However, we can put it on record that we have been consistently paying the current account, despite well-calculated delays on the part of the power utility to enter into a viable payment agreement.
“We remain committed to resolving all disputes we have with Eskom and any other service
provider, hence we continue to make every effort possible to keep up with monthly payments without fail.”
He further stated that the municipality’s lawyers have written to Eskom and the Krugersdorp sheriff and warned them about their failure to follow correct processes because the matter is before the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“The two parties were afforded until Thursday afternoon to respond and further instructed to seize the attachment of the municipality’s movable assets with immediate effect,” said Sangweni.
“We therefore note with disgust relentless efforts by Eskom to disregard the IGR [intergovernmental relations] processes which confirmed today’s [Thursday] actions by the power utility as both unconstitutional and unlawful.
“We advise Eskom to exercise patience by waiting for the outcome of a groundbreaking court sitting in 2023 which will assist in resolving all the impasse Eskom is having with all public institutions.”
#EskomGauteng#EmfuleniAssetsAttached
We are attaching the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s assets after obtaining a R1.3 billion judgement against the municipality. pic.twitter.com/7jj3W6BqqI
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 1, 2022
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