Johannesburg - The government is considering withholding funds from 27 local municipalities who are failing to pay their electricity bills to Eskom.
In March, the government stopped disbursements to 59 municipalities who weren’t honoring their debts, forcing them to agree to payment plans with Eskom and other creditors.
Of these, 27 have since failed to settle, the National Treasury said Wednesday in an e-mailed response to questions.
"The culture of non-payment for services consumed by all levels of government, business and communities must stop," the Treasury said.
Eskom was owed R4.4bn by municipalities by August.
The National Treasury is meeting with the non-paying municipalities to "assist them and to address institutional weaknesses in the system," it said.
The South African Local Government Association and the Department of Cooperative Governance are also involved in the talks, it said.