SEDIBENG. Different Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) service providers protested at the Vereeniging division of Rand Water yesterday, Thursday, as they handed in their memorandum of demands (MoD).

Tyres were burned infront of the offices main gates on the main road leading to Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark during the protest.

The service providers said that they demand that the ongoing legal issues between Rand Water and the ELM be resolved immediately, adding that they are extremely concerned about the lack of payments for service providers in recent times.

The non-aligned group of service providers said that they have invested massive amounts to provide services to the ELM and they are suffering as the legal matters between Rand Water and the ELM have been continuing for the past seven years without resolution.

The group further said that as legally prescribed that they must be paid within 30 days, some of them must wait for more than nine months for payments due to the ongoing debacle and that these delays have cost many black businesses to go insolvent in contrast to triple BEEE principles.

“We are at a stage where we cannot pay our overheads and salaries, as usual, it has come to our attention that Rand Water and Eskom periodically attach the bank account of the Emfuleni Local Municipality at vital moments when payments are due to the local services providers. This modus operandi has cost many businesses to falter and is threatening more businesses to fail.”

They demanded the following:

1. That the attachment of the ELM bank account is uplifted with immediate effect.
2. That solution be provided to stop this historical farce.
3. That all stakeholders must put the people of Emfuleni first and stop using courts to extend the suffering of the people as they are organs of the state, and that failure to adhere to these demands will lead to extended protest from the community and service providers

The service providers said that they expected a public announcement on their demands no later than next week.