Emfuleni businesses are flocking to directly support ELM with service delivery projects – pointedly ignoring calls for a municipal rates and taxes boycott – as crucial debt talks between the municipality and Eskom’s CEO take place this week.

A number of businesses have already established a Vaal Business Forum (VBF) to co-operate with the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) that includes regional and national heavyweights such as ArcelorMittal SA, Nampak, Cape Gate and others.

Amongst other key Captains-of-Industry joining are Dixon Batteries, CBI, Collect-a-Can, CWI, Greif, Afrisam, and Air Products, said ELM Executive Mayor Sipho Radebe.

The collective value of the joint projects envisaged could amount to billions of rands over time and do not involve cash injections to ELM , but rather the implementation of practical projects already costed and resourced by participants.

Many other businesses have also expressed desire to join. The Vereeniging Business Cooperation (VBC), the Emfuleni Ratepayer’s Association (Erpa) and the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC), who recently called for a rates and taxes boycott of ELM, are not represented on the new VBF.

Mayor Radebe confirmed the VBF in a media statement on Tuesday this week, on the eve of crucial talks between the municipality and Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter on Wednesday.

“The first strategic objective undertaken by the new Emfuleni Coalition Government of Local Unity (GLU) was the creation of meaningful partnerships between the private sector and the municipality to join hands on the journey to recovery and economic growth,” said Radebe.

A crucial meeting between ELM and Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter takes place on Wednesday to discuss a way forward on R5,3 billion debt owed to the bulk power utility by the municipality.

A key agenda point is returning the ELM vehicle fleet after Eskom seized by attachment order late last week, bringing service delivery to a halt, but also to stabilise the notoriously conflict-ridden relationship between the two State entities.

VBF operations are expected to cover many service delivery functions such as road repairs, grass-cutting and others, thus saving hugely on a strained ELM budget and huge debt, especially to bulk service providers such as Eskom and Rand Water.

Paying such debts and attachments by Eskom, have seen service delivery grind to a halt in Emfuleni and so the establishment of the VBF will not only strengthen service delivery, but take considerable financial pressure from ELM.

ELM MMC for Finance Councillor Hassan Mako today confirmed that talks would take place with de Ruyter on Wednesday and that ELM would put specific proposals for discussion.

These would include a broad range of projects aimed at achieving revenue security and generation for ELM as well as proposals on how to combat infrastructure looting and predation, which costs the municipality and Eskom many millions.

Included would be the VBF and Emfuleni’s vastly successful smart meter programme by service provider BXC – which has emerged as the best of its kind in Gauteng.

“As a new coalition Government at ELM which has only been in full control of the municipality since end September, when partial Gauteng Province administration ended, we hope to convince Mr de Ruyter and Eskom that we are in a position to achieve a sustainable resolution to the present debt crisis,” said Councillor Mako.