Joburg's big move to keep the lights on gets blocked
City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has revealed that the metro plans to use its equitable share allocation from the National Treasury to pay off its outstanding debt to Eskom.
However, this could be problematic considering the National Treasury's temporary withholding of the metro's July 2026 funding allocation.
Joburg has come up with a brilliant plan to keep the lights on: use money from National Treasury to pay Eskom.
Very sensible.
Very responsible.
Very “we have definitely thought this through”. Except Treasury has temporarily withheld part of the July 2026 allocation. So now Joburg is standing at the Eskom counter saying, “Do not worry, the money is coming.” And Treasury is standing behind them saying, “No, it is not.”
This is not a payment plan. This is trying to settle your restaurant bill with a salary that your employer has already frozen.
Mayor Dada Morero says the equitable share will be used to pay Eskom and Rand Water. The only problem is that the equitable share is currently not being shared. It is being equitably withheld. And the reason is apparently persistent financial-management and legal-compliance problems.
That is government language for: “We gave you money before, and now we would like to know where it went.”
Ordinary people do not get this kind of treatment. Try telling City Power, “I am temporarily withholding my July payment because of concerns about your financial management.” They will switch you off so quickly your kettle will not even finish boiling.
But when the city owes billions, nobody arrives with pliers. They arrange a meeting. They create a task team. They issue a statement. When you owe R1,000, you get a final demand. When you owe R5.26 billion, you become part of an intergovernmental process. And that R5.26 billion is only the arrears. There was also roughly R1.58 billion due on the current account. At that point, it is no longer an electricity bill.
It is a national development programme.
Meanwhile, residents are sitting at home saying, “But we paid our accounts.” Yes, you paid City Power. City Power must pay Eskom. Eskom is waiting. Treasury is withholding. Rand Water is also waiting. And somehow you are still the person who may end up eating cold food in the dark.
It is like paying the waiter, watching the waiter disappear with your money, and then being told the restaurant is taking away your candle. Only in Johannesburg can the plan to keep the lights on be blocked because the money meant to keep the lights on has also been switched off.
At this point, the city does not need another funding strategy. It needs an inverter for the budget.
