ANC-led coalition government misses an opportunity to resolve power outages
by Cllr. Malcolm Maifala-Masebe — DA Spokesperson on Public Participation and Petitions in Ekurhuleni
Date: 30 July 2021
Release: Immediate
Type: Press Statement
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni is disappointed by the ANC-led coalition’s* unwillingness to supply and maintain electricity supply for the residents of Ekurhuleni.
This follows the rejection of a reasonable motion presented by the DA in dealing with constant power outages gripping the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE). Citing a feeble excuse when responding on behalf of the Executive Committee, ANC-appointed MMC of Infrastructure Services, Cllr. Masele Madihlaba, said, “there is no need for the motion as there is a plan from the executive”. Why is this alleged plan not tabled before Council so that it can also be interrogated by the relevant oversight committee? Surely if a plan existed, then the CoE would not have an energy crisis on its hands?
The Ekurhuleni Mayoral Committee continue to hide behind the Covid-19 pandemic for poor service delivery, while power outages continue to have a devastating impact on both the lives and livelihoods of the residents. The ANC and its coalition partners have shown that they simply do not care about the residents of Ekurhuleni.
The DA presented a motion before council following a report by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) earlier this year, which indicated that the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) has 890 filled posts while the structure demands that 1 600 positions be filled. As it currently stands, the Ekurhuleni Energy Department is functioning with a 55% staff capacity, and not the set standard by NERSA.
It is the view of the DA that part of the City of Ekurhuleni’s power outages woes are far from over. This is because without the required staff complement, the city will not be able to keep the lights on.
As the DA, we believe until the city starts ramping up the filling of vacancies within the Energy Department, power outages will continue to drain the lives and livelihoods of residents in the city.
While the ANC-appointed MMC Madihlaba boasted about insignificant successes in securing the energy infrastructure, residents continue to experience power outages owing to vandalism and cable theft. This is just another example that the ANC and its coalition partners have no interest or political will to ensure that Ekurhuleni residents and businesses enjoy a sustainable power supply.
The CoE has never had sustainable interventions in addressing power outages. If they did, then the Ekurhuleni Petitions Committee would not be dealing with residents petitioning the city to provide a basic service.
The dismal failure to deliver basic services highlights the incompetence of the ANC and its coalition partners, and the DA will continue to use council processes to implore the ANC-led coalition government to do what is right, and act in the interest of Ekurhuleni residents.
It is time the residents of Ekurhuleni turned to the DA to provide Real Hope and Real Change in the city.
#Time4Change
*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)
Cllr. Malcolm Maifala-Masebe
DA Spokesperson on Public Participation and Petitions in Ekurhuleni
