A fight is brewing over who controls electricity at local government level. The South African Local Government Association, SALGA has sounded an alarm about a new plan from Eskom, the proposed Distribution Agency Agreement saying it looks like a backdoor takeover of the job of municipalities to provide electricity to residents and businesses.
SALGA says while it acknowledges the critical need for a stable power supply, the plan in its current form, threatens to undermine the constitutional mandate of local government.
SALGA argues that if the plan will have far-reaching implications for governance and the economy. It says communities could lose their crucial right to hold their elected municipal leaders accountable for reliable electricity delivery.
