BUSINESSES have threatened to leave the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality to escape constant power failures.
Businesses in the Free State municipality were left in the dark for almost two weeks because of unannounced power cuts, which resulted in the loss of millions of rands.
Some factories have already moved to Newcastle in KZN, Eswatini and Lesotho since the start of the winter season.
Business and Community Development Association spokesman Nelson Moekoa said businesses lost millions to power failures, which were unrelated to load shedding.
“The municipality has failed its constitutional mandate. The municipality should prioritise businesses, hospitals and police stations,” he said.
“We need Eskom to take over so it can build the industrial area its own substation.”
Factory owners, Anisha Ranjith and Perm Havise, told Daily Sun their businesses were collapsing. They said if they left the area, thousands of people would be retrenched.
They said they hoped the new administration would understand the importance of a reliable power supply and prioritise businesses.
The Maluti-a-Phofung infrastructure MMC, Shashapa Motaung, said the municipality was experiencing power challenges.
“Sometimes after stage four, Eskom implements stage six, which leads to massive protests in Phuthaditjhaba and surrounding areas. We are also experiencing cable theft and vandalism at our substations,” he said.
“We are doing our level of best to encourage people to buy electricity so it can reduce the load. We want to promise our businesses that the municipality is on good terms with Eskom to take over our electricity supply. We make a humble plea not to leave.”
The municipality currently owes Eskom more than R6 billion.
