Mpumalanga mayor 'admits' to using illegally connected electricity

A criminal case has been opened against the mayor of the Nkomazi local municipality in Mpumalanga, Phindile Magagula, regarding allegations of being a beneficiary of illegally connected electricity at her Aniva house.

The DA and the EFF opened cases early this week at the Schoemansdal police station after Magagula admitted to this during an interview on radio station Ligwagwala FM.

During the interview, Magagula said though this was not her primary residence, she had a house in Aniva, a newly established settlement where the community made a contribution of R40,000 for the installation of electricity years ago.

“Aniva ... started in 2017 and I have a stand there but I don’t live in the house. This is politically motivated because I was not the only one who uses the electricity.

“We contributed and paid money, about R40,000. We were not advised to apply for a transformer [directly from Eskom]. The electricity was connected from 2021. I was not even a mayor and I didn’t know I would be a mayor at the time,” said Magagula.

Municipal spokesperson Cyril Ripinga said the municipality was not in a position to respond to the allegations or give an indication of any disciplinary measures it could impose.

“We saw the media releases but are not aware of a formal complaint against her. This happened in her personal capacity. We do not know what is happening at her house. We have not received any official complaint by opposition parties. We can [proceed] only once they follow the procedure,” said Ripinga.

DA Nkomazi councillor Nhlonipho Dlamini said the mayor's admission signalled the level of corruption that is perpetuated by the ANC government.

“The DA finds the mayor’s conduct very dishonourable and unethical. For years, the municipality has been battling with cable theft without any tangible solution,” she said. 

“This explains why the municipality has been reluctant in finding a long-term solution to cable theft, though replacing stolen cables costs millions of unbudgeted rand.

“One would expect the municipality’s executive mayor to speak against this and try to eliminate it. But ironically the mayor is allegedly championing this illegal conduct.”

Dlamini added that it was concerning that residents of Aniva are without electricity, “while the mayor is illegally connected to the grid — this is an indication that ANC leaders are not in power to serve residents”.

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