Absa Cheque account disastrous

I opened a cheque account with absa in 2017 and continued with it in spite of enduring the high interest fees. However in March 2020 I encountered financial difficulties and I am no longer receiving a salary in absa. Due to their high interests I owed R2360 in April 2020. I was not financially able to pay that amount and it increased to currently R 4000. I requested them to deactivate the account until I paid the money and the admin said it is impossible to deactivate the account until I have paid all the money. My question is how long will the account keep accumulating interests even when I am not using it. There must be some form of agreement between us to help me be able to pay this fees. Otherwise this will have a negative impact on me.