Power cut at clinics, police stations and other facilities after millions in unpaid electricity bills

Electricity supplies to clinics, police stations, courts and other public facilities in Ngwathe were disconnected last week after government departments failed to settle municipal accounts, the Parys Gazette reports.

Who was affected and why

The Parys Gazette reports that power was cut last week at clinics, police stations, courts, libraries, correctional services facilities, provincial testing and licensing stations, and magistrates’ courts across the five Ngwathe towns Parys, Vredefort, Koppies, Heilbron and Edenville because of outstanding electricity debt the Ngwathe Local Municipality says is owed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

How large is the debt

According to the municipality’s finance division and Municipal Manager Dr F.P. Mothamaha, municipal debt owed by government departments in the Ngwathe towns has exceeded R234 million.

Notices and partial restorations

The municipality delivered final notices of intention to disconnect on 25 May, and action was taken after no response was received, the Parys Gazette says. Electricity to police stations, courts and the correctional services centre had been restored by the weekend after a payment agreement was reached with the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Negotiations with the provincial Department of Public Works were continuing, the report says.

Clinics, vaccines and service continuity

By Monday, electricity to clinics had been restored, Mondli Mvambi, spokesperson for the Free State Department of Health, told the Parys Gazette. Mvambi emphasised that the Department of Health is not responsible for payment of the electricity accounts and that this function is performed by the Free State Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

The Parys Gazette reports that affected clinics remained open throughout the outage and continued assisting patients. Clinic refrigerators were said to have cold-chain capacity for up to 72 hours, and alternative safe storage arrangements were put in place to maintain vaccine cold-chain requirements for longer until power was restored.

Still outstanding and broader consequences

By Tuesday, libraries and provincial traffic offices had not had their electricity restored, the municipality said. The Parys Gazette reports the municipality had not received any payments for the affected institutions and that Tuesday was set as a deadline for payment arrangements; the municipality warned it would take further action if no arrangement or payment was received.

The report notes Ngwathe previously took similar action in November 2025 against several schools during final examinations. While schools were not among the state institutions disconnected last week, the municipality said school accounts remain problematic and that of all schools in Ngwathe only four have municipal accounts fully paid up.

Wider financial picture

The Parys Gazette cites Eskom as saying Ngwathe’s debt to Eskom had accumulated since 2009 to nearly R3 billion, as reported in April. The municipality does not charge interest on overdue municipal service accounts owed by government departments, the report says, but the outstanding balances are contributing to Ngwathe’s debt to Eskom.

Ngwathe’s municipal manager also highlighted that audits of water meters are under way and that many households are not paying service charges or water consumption accounts, the Parys Gazette reports.

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