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Residents and businesses in Kakamas and surrounding towns live in daily fear that their electricity supply could be suspended at any moment without warning due to the Kai !Garib municipality’s enormous debt to Eskom.
The Kakamas interest group says the municipality owes Eskom around R1.036 billion in outstanding electricity bills – almost three times more than the municipality’s income of R376 million, as indicated in its financial statements for June last year.
Eskom confirmed in a statement last week that the suspension of bulk electricity supply has been temporarily lifted pending an urgent court application which the municipality would submit to the High Court in Kimberley on Monday (11 May).
However, according to Eskom, the suspension can continue without further notice if the application is not submitted on time.
The Kakamas interest group says there is great uncertainty because neither the municipality nor the court or Eskom could confirm whether the urgent application had indeed been submitted and what the outcome was.
“Businesses and the community live in constant fear and uncertainty that their electricity could be cut off at any moment,” says Jaco Visser, chairman of the interest group.
According to Visser, businesses without power supply will be forced to either close their doors or use expensive diesel generators amid rising fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East.
“We are sad that the municipality is gambling with the livelihoods of the residents of Kakamas, Keimoes, Kenhardt and Kanoneiland. People will lose their income,” says Visser.
He further warns that citrus farmers preparing for the harvest season are dependent on refrigeration to export their produce.
“It feels as if the municipal councilors do not understand these basic economic facts.”
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(Photo: Maroela Media)
Visser also believes that the council communicates poorly with the community about the crisis.
“They literally leave us in the dark and don’t give us a chance to plan for possible interruptions.”
This is the second time since 2019 that the Kai !Garib municipality has approached the court to try to prevent an interruption of its power supply due to non-payment.
Eskom also confirmed that Kai !Garib is one of two municipalities in the region that approached the High Court to stop electricity cuts due to non-payment. The other is the Dr. Beyers Naudé- local municipality in Graaff-Reinet.
According to Eskom, the planned interruption of electricity in the Mamusa local municipality in Schweizer-Reneke already started last Friday.
The latest power crisis is part of a growing list of service delivery problems in the Kai !Garib area. National media previously reported on months-long problems with water supply and claims that the water was unsafe to drink earlier this year.
The water crisis has apparently been going on for about three years and according to community leaders has contributed to seven deaths in the area in 2023.