Staff Writer | Wed, 10 Dec 2025
State-owned power utility Eskom has written off at least R470 million of the R1.41 billion owed to it by the ailing Klerksdorp-based Matlosana Local Municipality in the North West.
In November, Eskom publicly named and shamed municipalities with escalating electricity debts running into billions of rand, with Matlosana featuring prominently on the list.
However, the utility has since moved to grant relief under its Municipal Debt Relief Programme, approving a one-third write-off of debt as part of a broader R3.5 billion relief package extended to 11 municipalities nationwide.
As a result, Matlosana has benefited from a debt write-off amounting to R470,276,976.50, reducing its outstanding Eskom debt to approximately R940 million.
The municipality has welcomed the intervention, conceding that years of failure to honour payment arrangements with Eskom had plunged the city into a deepening financial crisis.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, municipal spokesperson Ntswaki Makgetha said Municipal Manager(MM) Lesego Seametso and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mercy Phetla acknowledged Eskom’s announcement and confirmed that the write-off would be reflected in upcoming Eskom invoices.
“The City of Matlosana welcomes this initiative, which will assist in alleviating financial pressure on municipal services,” Makgetha said.
“The municipality commits to managing the debt relief transparently and ensuring that savings are channelled towards essential service delivery and community development projects.”
Makgetha added that the one-third debt relief formed part of Eskom’s total R3.5 billion write-off processed in November 2025.
However, Eskom debt is not the only financial burden hanging over the troubled municipality. By 2023, Matlosana reportedly owed Midvaal Water at least R1.1 billion, further underscoring its precarious financial position.
Concerns over financial mismanagement in the North West province were highlighted as far back as June 2022, when Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke revealed that nearly 43% of municipal expenditure in the province was classified as irregular.
Briefing Parliament at the time, Maluleke said municipalities in the province continued to receive disclaimer audit opinions, while service delivery and performance continued to deteriorate. She attributed the decline largely to persistent leadership instability.
Maluleke further disclosed that all 22 municipalities in the North West failed to obtain clean audits, placing the province among the worst-performing in the country. The municipalities received either unqualified opinions with findings, qualified opinions, or disclaimer opinions, she said.
News Junction (Gold Standard)