Cash-strapped Emfuleni Local Municipality's problems seem to be getting worse by the day. The employees at the municipality in the Vaal have not been paid their salaries for September.

A MUNICIPALITY IN CRISIS

This is as a result of Eskom's decision to attach the municipality's four bank accounts in an attempt to recover an estimated electricity debt of R8 billion. MMC for Finance at the municipality, Hassan Mako, confirmed that their workers have not yet received their September salaries. "I myself have not gotten paid, including the administration and all the councillors concerned," Mako said. He said they had a meeting on Monday where the Ministers of Finance, Electricity and Cooperative Governance were present in a gathering between Eskom and Emfuleni to come up with solutions for an urgent plan. "We seem to be having a way forward and we will be finalising it and the possibilities of releasing salaries will be between today and tomorrow," he said.

PLANS IN PLACE

Mako said they have a financial recovery plan that under review with Cogta and National Treasury to ensure corrective measures are deployed by the municipality. "I want to emphasize that the trouble with revenue collection is caused by the high unemployment rate. As a municipality, we have put measures in place and are revising our turnaround strategy where we are going to check land availability to attract investment so that we are able to create jobs and grow our treasury." He further said that one of the measures they've put in place was to disconnect customers, but that was in vain because they reconnected themselves.