The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) expresses serious concern over the City of Ekurhuleni’s failure to service its Eskom debt, which now stands at R3 400 342 988 (Three Billion Four Hundred Million Three Hundred Forty-Two Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty-Eight Rand).
In an effort to recover this debt, Eskom has expressed its intention to disconnect its bulk electricity supply to residents and businesses across the municipality. Once again, the residents of Ekurhuleni find themselves facing service delivery uncertainty as a result of political, governance, and administrative incompetence under the current leadership.
To illustrate the chronic levels of incompetence and financial mismanagement, the City of Ekurhuleni’s Eskom debt has been steadily accumulating since the ANC took charge of the City’s finance department. In October 2023, the debt stood at R1.5 billion which was current. By 2025, it had risen to approximately R2.4 billion, and now in 2026 it has escalated to over R3.4 billion overdue.
To date, nearly four (4) months past the due date, the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has still not tabled the City’s audit report due to disputes lodged by the City’s finance department regarding the findings of the report.
This, coupled with the abrupt resignation of the MMC for Finance and the continuous reshuffling of the Mayoral Committee, paints a picture of a municipality without level-headed leadership and with collapsing internal financial and governance systems.
The EFF has consistently warned about the erosion of governance and leadership structures in the City under the current mayor. As a result, the residents of Ekurhuleni – in Thembisa, Vosloorus, Katlehong, Tsakane, Germiston, and across the municipality – are now bearing the brunt of this incompetence.
The EFF, through its Caucus in the City Council, will continue to hold the mayor and his minority executive accountable and will ensure that the voice of the people of Ekurhuleni is heard without compromise. The EFF also calls on Eskom to explore other means to enforce debt payment without punishing the already financially strained residents.