The entire Nelson Mandela Bay Mayoral Committee will attend a National Energy regulator of South Africa (Nersa) public hearing on November 1 to oppose Eskom’s proposed 2018 tariff increase application of 19.9%.
The municipality has a R25-billion maintenance backlog – due to decades of negligence and poor governance – and has begun a major infrastructure overhaul.
“As such, Bay residents are already digging deep in terms of rates and tariffs,” said a municipal spokesperson. “Every cent of this additional rates income is going to promote infrastructure-led growth and accelerate service delivery improvements.”
The municipality believes that Eskom has shown itself to be reckless and irresponsible with public money and therefore a tariff increase cannot precede the utility getting its affairs in order by ensuring financial prudence and reliable management.
The committee has also urged Nelson Mandela Bay residents to participate in the public hearing.
