Relief on Eskom debt is envisaged as saving up to R50 million per month on interest payments alone for the embattled ELM municipality – but it will still be expected to pay its monthly current account to the bulk utility.

ELM submitted its application on 31 May 2023 to both National Treasury and the Gauteng Province Treasury, ELM has confirmed. A decision on the application is expected within the month (June).

If granted, the debt relief includes tough conditions with major impacts on Emfuleni businesses communities, especially with hugely-increased credit control steps to bring in the more than R7 billion owed ELM by residents and businesses.

ELM is now expected to aggressively roll out its smart meter project throughout Emfuleni to replace corruption-prone paper-based billing and a range of outdated pre-paid meters.

ELM is well-placed for such expansion as smart meter service provider BXC has already developed the most advanced programme of its kind in Gauteng – the National Treasury states that smart meters are a pre-requisite to create a sustainable payment culture.

National Treasury conditions say ELM must take decisive steps to both boost its revenue collection rate – now at 72% – and cut infrastructure risks which account for almost 60% loss of drinking water, uncontrolled cable theft and large-scale power meter bridging.

Illegal connections will also be targeted and those businesses paying normal rates for power and water will now also be compelled to pay business rates.

But the decisive factor in managing revenue bleed-out is seen as halting water losses. Rand Water itself now controls ELM Water and Sanitation infrastructure and is responsible for implementing the R7 billion Vaal River sewage pollution clean-up project.

Referred to as Section 63. the project has been slow and stakeholders ranging from business to civil society have complained of lack of Rand Water report-back and progress.

Since December 2022, Eskom has repeatedly attached ELM’s bank accounts and extracted hundreds of millions of Rand earmarked for service delivery in ambush tactics designed to blackmail the municipality at month-end when salary payments were due.

Month-end May saw ELM employees, Councillors wait five days for their salaries due to alleged difficulties in lifting various bank attachments.