Newcastle municipality slashes Eskom debt
Newcastle Mayor Xolani Dube insists the struggling municipality is getting its financial house in order.
He says they have been tackling their debt of R200 million owed to Eskom.
He says the municipality's been struggling financially since 2015, because of loans and a poor purse balance.
Eskom threatened to cut services in 2019. Dube says he's pleased to announce that the municipality's been able to reduce its debt significantly.
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"When I came into office, Eskom debt was sitting at R200 million plus, but currently we are stilling at R26 [million] and we are going to be paying the last million in August.
"They are going to save about R807 million if we are done paying for Eskom. Then for that money, we are going to be patching more potholes and we are going to address the issue of pumps."
Dube says they're not out of the woods yet, as the debt owed by residents has climbed to over R1 billion.
He says they've come up with a payment scheme for customers, including local businesses.
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"As we are being owed R105 billion we have decided to appoint a company that will source funds for us. If a person comes forward and pays off 50% then we will write off the other 50% of what we are owed "
Dube also says they've realised that some businesses are leasing on their land at rates far lower than they should and will be looking to re-adjust these.
