IN the event of Eskom not running out of capacity again, the residents and business people of Cradock and Middelburg can relax because power cuts for the Inxuba Yethemba Municipality seem to be a thing of the past, for at least the next three months.
The case brought on by Cradock and Middelburg Ratepayers Associations for an order to ring-fence all monies paid to the municipality for electricity in the two towns, will be heard in court at Makhanda (Grahamstown) on February 13 and no power cuts can take place before the result is known.
By ring-fencing the money paid in for electricity, the municipality will not be allowed to utilise these funds for anything except to pay off the municipality’s enormous debt to Eskom.
Lou Venter, who started the Cradock Community group to uplift the town, said that he feels that Eskom is as much to blame for the present situation, as they should not have allowed the debt to escalate to more than R112 million.
Power cuts not only hamper business but can be a case of life and death in a hospital or old age home. While doctors and vets have problems keeping medicines and vaccinations cold, small businesses cannot afford to keep a generator running while bigger businesses find the additional cost of fuel for running a generator excessive.
