Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Hilton Maasdorp and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL.
The DA Dihlabeng Caucus will submit proposals to the municipality after a recent visit by the National Council of Provinces to the Free State. The provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) indicated that by November 2025, the amount owed to Eskom by Dihlabeng Municipality was over R1.3 billion.
Dihlabeng has the second-highest Eskom debt in the Free State, behind only Matjhabeng, which owes R8.7 billion.
Given Dihlabeng’s small size compared to other municipalities in the Free State, the Eskom debt appears to be a runaway train. The DA is also concerned about the 57% collection rate within the municipality, which suggests that the municipality’s income is far from its ability to service debt.
The report to the NCOP further indicated that Dihlabeng is far behind with the R35 094 000,00 Municipal Infrastructure Grant allocation from the national government. While expenditure should be at 30% by November, it is currently at 16% with only R5 480 604,39 spent.
We are concerned about the lack of capacity to manage large projects and service the municipality’s growing debt.
The DA has the following proposals that, if implemented effectively, could reduce the financial strain in the municipality:
- The implementation of an aggressive credit control plan.
- The establishment of effective debt control mechanisms that include the indigent expansion, sound billing systems and sound billing systems in all communities.
- Ringfencing all revenue generated from electricity sales to service Eskom debt.
- Holding responsible officials to account, with sound consequence management.
We will continue to place pressure on the ANC-run municipality to formalise the adoption and implementation of our proposals, ensure complete transparency on revenue flows, and ensure accountability.