Mbombela schools comment on outstanding electricity accounts

MBOMBELA – Parents of pupils in local schools who feared that electricity to these schools may soon be cut because they were in arrears with Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM), can heave a sigh of relief, for now. All parties involved have given their assurance that they were meeting their respective responsibilities in order to keep the lights on.

Schools were actually left surprised after Lowvelder reported last week that notices had been issued to 11 schools within Mbombela, in which the municipality threatened to cut their electricity if they failed to settle their outstanding accounts within 14 days.

Lowvelder has been reporting on this issue since 2012 and according to a media statement issued by the governing bodies of three of the affected schools, the schools have since been working with various role players to reach an acceptable solution.

“Hoërskool Nelspruit, Laerskool Nelspruit and Lowveld High have already been involved since 2011 in finding a workable solution and has been in contact with the municipality, the Department of Education, Department of Cooperative Management and the premier’s office to find an acceptable solution regarding rising, exorbitant electricity costs at schools,” the statement reads.

In 2012 the schools owed MLM over R2 million for outstanding electricity and refuse-removal services.

The schools immediately consulted with their attorney, who arranged that an urgent application be brought before the High Court in Pretoria.

Judge AJ Muller then ordered that the schools’ power should not be cut and that a formal application be brought before court. This was done and served to the municipality on October 12, 2012.

Three years later, this amount has escalated to just over R8 million.

According to the media release the governing bodies of the affected schools said that, as educational institutions, they accept their responsibility to fulfil their obligations to the authorities and the community. They added that some measures had already been instituted at the schools, including the installation of cost-saving equipment which had reduced the use of electricity to such an extent that the three schools had been able to pay their full monthly electrical accounts from January 1, 2014.

The schools furthermore gave the community the assurance that the matter was receiving the highest priority and nonetheless guaranteed quality education to learners. Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for MLM, told the paper that since reporting on the issue, there had been some developments in the matter.

However, he denied the fact that any school had been “registered incorrectly” or had to pay “business fees” which might have led to the arrears.

“We are not aware of the incorrectly registered issue, but to us this is no longer a matter since, in some instances, the department has stepped in and in others the clients themselves have begun making acceptable payment arrangements,” Ngala said.

Ngala furthermore emphasised that such letters of demand or notices were sent to any client who would from time to time be in arrears as per their debt-collection policy. The Department of Education nonetheless yet again told the paper that they had transferred funds to schools so they could settle their municipal bills and urged the schools to consult with municipalities on time to settle their outstanding accounts or make the required arrangements. “The fact of the matter is that schools throughout the province are legally obliged and expected to settle their accounts with the municipalities.

The department has made it clear that schools are obliged to settle their municipality accounts and in the event that a school is unable to do so, the department will assist by transferring the required amount to the municipality from the allocation of the school,” Mr Jasper Zwane, spokesman for the department, said.