The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape congratulates the Nama Khoi coalition municipality on its successful debt write-off of just under R70 million for money owed to Eskom, representing a third of its debt owed to the power utility.
The DA is proud of the work done by DA Mayor, Rodney Kritzinger, in conjunction with our coalition partner, the Namaka Civic Movement, and the entire Nama Khoi administration.
Having entered the debt write-off programme in 2023, the DA appreciates Nama Khoi’s commitment towards addressing the legacy Eskom debt of over R209 million. Facing many challenges, including water infrastructure challenges stemming from a lack of maintenance under the previous ANC local government, in addition to inherited debt owed to the Vaal Central Water Board, we acknowledge that it has not been easy adhering to the terms of the agreement.
Having achieved an 86% compliance rate is a clear indication of the coalition’s pledge to strive for the gold standard, given the Eskom debt-relief programme’s stringent conditions.
The DA has full confidence in the coalition municipality to continue honoring its agreement with Eskom, which will ensure that it is eligible to have the remaining two thirds of its debt written off over the next two years.
The write-off spares the municipality from paying interest that would have been due on the original debt and affords the municipality fiscal space to re-direct their resources to service delivery.
The majority of Northern Cape municipalities that entered the debt write-off programme are not adequately complying, with some facing termination of participation in the programme.
The DA-NCM coalition, however, is setting Nama Khoi up as an example of good governance and while there is still much to be done to address service delivery challenges in Nama Khoi, the progress being made under the coalition must be protected by keeping the ANC and PA out of Nama Khoi.