South Africa: Joburg Mayor Promised No Blackouts So Where Is the Deal?

Johannesburg's mayor has told residents the lights are not going out. Eskom's own legal process to cut the city's power is still running. No signed agreement between the two has been made public.

That is the gap at the centre of the R5.2-billion debt crisis gripping South Africa's biggest city.

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero both announced in May that a resolution had been reached on the city's mounting debt to Eskom.

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But Eskom's Promotion of Administrative Justice Act process, the formal legal mechanism the utility uses before cutting supply to a municipality, has not been suspended. Eskom cited the city's failure to honour previous payment arrangements.

No signed settlement has been released. There is no confirmed date for when one will be made public.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse and a coalition of business chambers and residents' associations have now served legal papers on the city. They are demanding proof that a binding agreement exists. If the city does not produce it, they say they will go to court to force disclosure.

OUTA executive manager Julius Kleynhans said residents have a right to see the details.

"It's the people's money, not the city's money," Kleynhans said.

"We have seen political leaders reach agreements before that were never properly implemented."

He said any deal must be legally binding and must include consequences for officials who fail to honour it.

"If there are no consequences, ordinary residents will once again carry the burden," he said.

The Democratic Alliance has also entered the fight, gathering signatures on a petition asking Eskom not to punish residents for the city's debt. The party plans to hand the petition to Eskom at its Megawatt Park headquarters in Sunninghill.

DA spokesperson Luyolo Mpiti said 4,846 people had signed.

For Johannesburg residents already dealing with rising electricity tariffs, food costs and water bills, the uncertainty has one question at its centre: is there actually a deal, and will someone show them the paper?