The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reported Tsantsabane Municipality to the Office of the Public Protector (PP), following undue delays in resolving a growing electricity accounts crisis in Postmasburg.
In 2023, the Chief Financial Officer took a decision to bypass approximately 400 pre-paid meters to give households access to power after the municipality’s token system was found to be faulty. Despite countless promises to fix the system, this has not happened.
Since the start of 2025, residents have received astronomical accounts, without any prior communication from the municipality. While residents, in principle, do not have a problem paying backdated accounts for electricity usage, they are aggrieved by the lack of transparency in how the billed amounts have been derived, and the non-negotiable payment terms slapped on them.
Earlier this year, the DA wrote to the Municipal Manager, the Mayor, the Speaker and Directors, requesting that community engagements be urgently scheduled. While two community meetings have since taken place, the commitments made have not been met. This includes availing a senior official to discuss residents’ accounts and negotiate fair payment agreements, based on individual electricity usage.
Instead, a blanket charge of R1 250 per month has been instituted for residents who are unable to purchase electricity tokens. This is regardless of whether they use this amount of electricity per month. Residents are also expected to immediately settle 50% of their electricity debt and have six months to repay the remaining 50%.
Residents are growing increasingly frustrated, as they now also face electricity disconnection threats if they fail to comply with demands, despite their willingness to negotiate, pay and conclude on this matter.
The DA has submitted a complaint to the PP, indicating that Tsantsabane municipality has, over the past 18 months, unduly delayed service delivery to the people of Postmasburg through its failure to attend to the flawed token system for pre-paid meters, and ensure proper communication with the residents.
We expect that the outcome of the PP investigation will serve to hold Tsantsabane accountable for burdening residents with its own failures, while also helping to facilitate a solution that is fair for residents.