Many municipalities do not comply with the Electricity Regulation Act and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) must intervene to sort this out.

This is the view of AfriForum, a civil rights organisation, which says it would like to work with the new CoGTA Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa, to assist in “getting the situation under control”.

“Communities across the country suffer from poor municipal governance and its consequences. The department has a critical role in improving this situation and we are prepared to work with the minister to come up with solutions,” says Petrus Coetzee, AfriForum’s Advisor for Local Government Affairs.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa regulates municipalities in their capacity as electricity distribution licensees, said Coetzee. “We would like the department to intervene and ensure the municipalities fulfil their obligations.”

According to Section 139 of the Constitution, government must regularly evaluate the performance of municipalities against established benchmarks and indicators to identify areas in need of improvement, he explained.

CoGTA needs to improve intergovernmental relations to facilitate cooperation between government and public enterprises at national, provincial and local levels and thus ensure sustainable and integrated service delivery. The state must act as a mediator in resolving conflicts and disputes between municipalities and other stakeholders, especially in relation to Eskom as the national power utility, Coetzee added.

“The minister has the power to intervene at municipal level and we would like to see him exercise that function where necessary. It is important that national government intervenes where municipalities and provincial administration fail. We are keen to work with government officials, industry experts and community organisations to find solutions to the issues that hamper the efficient functioning of municipalities.”