Load-shedding pushing some KZN municipalities to brink of collapse: Salga

The ongoing power crisis is preventing some KwaZulu-Natal municipalities from delivering basic services.

This is according to South African Local Government Association (Salga) provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli, who was speaking at a press briefing in Musgrave on Friday.

"It's concerning that the impact of load-shedding is dire and has adverse effect on services such as water and sanitation. The country has seen Eskom plunge the country to stage 6 blackouts. Not only does this inhibit households, communities and businesses but also economic growth. It renders local government in an unfavourable condition," he said.

Ntuli was joined by his deputy councillor Ntombifuthi Gumede and Sabelo Gwala, who is provincial director of operations.

He said the country's power was supplied by coal, while diesel generation had increased from under R1bn in 2011 to well over R30bn a year. Based on these figures, the organisation concluded Eskom spends R82m on diesel a day or R56,000 a second.

"One would be forgiven for wondering if Eskom is held hostage by those it is easy to get diesel supply from," said Ntuli.

Both water and electricity are intrinsically linked. Owing to the province's geographical location, water supply necessitated high-lift pumping systems over great distances.

He said rural communities were also at the receiving end of power woes.

"In rural communities, the lack of electricity hits much harder with unannounced load-shedding. This morning, for instance, where I come from, Nkandla, I woke up to a complete blackout. I can tell you it would go off at different intervals today," he said.

Ntuli is also the mayor of King Cetshwayo district municipality.

He said power consumption in some rural communities was comparatively lower owing to the absence of industries. "This impacts primarily municipalities that feed directly from Eskom and we are not licensed electricity distributors," he said, listing Hlabisa, Dannhauser and the Okhahlamba as examples

Power outages render councils and businesses at the mercy of expensive generators, he said, adding that some diesel generators break down as they are not designed to run for extended hours.

The briefing comes as the troubled eThekwini municipality was placed under section 154 assistance, announced by the provincial cooperative governance and traditional affairs department.

Ntuli was also of the view the load-shedding schedule was pushing children to hunger.

"Households are constrained by rising costs that trickle down from tariffs. The survival of households and small businesses is tied to municipalities' survival. In other words, municipalities can collect if households can afford to live within their means.

"Salga members collect revenue but cannot pay Eskom and water boards if household incomes are constrained."

He said the organisation would lobby national structures and province to support its vital policy intervention.

"The view of Salga KZN is that the local government framework is nearing collapse,."

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