Electricity debt cancellation will reinforce culture of non-paymentIt is astonishing that President Cyril Ramaphosa supports the proposal that all overdue electricity bills in Soweto, townships, informal settlements and hostels must be written off.According to Ramaphosa, debt can indeed be cancelled under certain circumstances and on certain conditions.
The President’s reply, furthermore, made it clear that government has no plan to deal with overdue debt to Eskom.The central government cannot afford to take over any more of Eskom’s debt, because government debt is also already sky-high. Eskom’s debt, however, remains taxpayers’ problem and yielding to populist statements by politicians, like Lesufi, will put the already overtaxed middle class under even more pressure.
So why then pay tax?