Ngwathe Municipality disconnects power to government facilities over R234 million electricity debt
via The Citizen3 min read
Ngwathe Municipality disconnected electricity to various government facilities, including clinics, police stations, courts, and libraries, across its five towns due to over R234 million in outstanding electricity debt owed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. The disconnections, which began last week, followed final notices issued on May 25. Electricity was restored to police stations, courts, and correctional services centers after a payment agreement was reached with the national Department of Public Works. Clinics also had their power restored by Monday, with the Free State Department of Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, clarifying that the provincial Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is responsible for these payments. Mvambi assured the public that clinics remained operational and maintained cold-chain requirements for vaccines. However, as of Tuesday, libraries and provincial traffic offices remained without power, and the municipality stated it had not received any payments for the affected institutions, threatening further action if arrangements or payments were not made by the deadline. The Ngwathe Municipal Manager, Dr F.P. Mothamaha, noted that the municipality does not charge interest on overdue government accounts, contributing to its own nearly R3 billion debt to Eskom since 2009. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson, Paul Matlanyane, attributed the interruption to theft. The municipality has previously tak
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