KIMBERLEY – New tariffs in the Sol Plaatje Municipality in Kimberley will be confirmed by the end of the week following confusion over some of the values communicated on Monday during the budget speech for 2026-’27.
It was presented on Monday afternoon, 29 June, by Executive Mayor Martha Bartlett under the theme “Rebuilding Sol Plaatje Together”.
Earlier, Tumelo Mosikare, community leader and member of the Sol Plaatje Community Forum, wrote to the executive mayor, saying it was reassuring to note that the red flags raised by National Treasury on the draft budget were concerns that had been raised with the municipality for years regarding the tariffs.
These were also concerns NERSA raised in the 2017-’18 tariff approval letter, dated 2 June 2017, on the affordability of electricity and the high losses of electricity.
Mosikare referred to the first directive being “the Municipality must improve its efficiencies by addressing the high losses instead of increasing the tariffs”.
In the letter, it was requested that the municipality consider correcting the budget in line with National Treasury’s draft budget review conclusion so that a funded, credible and consulted-on budget is adopted. It was also requested that the basic and capacity charge be removed from residential tariffs and that the municipality decisively address the high electricity losses, which are the main cause of the expensive electricity residents are being charged.
Opposition parties voice concerns
Reacting to Monday’s budget speech, Heinrich Pieterse, Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor and caucus leader, said the party notes, with reservations, the tabling of Sol Plaatje Municipality’s 2026-’27 budget before the 30 June deadline.
“National Treasury has cautioned that the municipality does not have sufficient cash to fund its operations and is relying heavily on recovering more than R1 billion in outstanding debt. If these collections do not materialise, the municipality’s financial position, and its ability to deliver basic services, will come under even greater pressure.
“The municipality must now urgently focus on implementing National Treasury’s recommendations by strengthening revenue collection, enforcing credit control, containing employee-related expenditure, protecting cash flow, paying creditors, particularly Eskom, on time, and investing in infrastructure maintenance and asset renewal.”
Johan Smit, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) councillor, said in a statement that his party voted against the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality’s budget on due to the severe financial pressure it places on residents.
“The budget also ignores dilapidated infrastructure and service delivery that is failing residents and puts pressure on residents with increased property taxes and other levies, without offering better value for money.”
Smit stated that the solution does not lie in continuous tariff increases, but in recovering lost revenue.
“The municipality must drastically improve and combat water and power losses – including illegal connections. Preventive maintenance must also be given priority. Every rand lost through poor management is unfairly taken from loyal payers, making the burden unsustainable,” Smit concluded.
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