DA calls for Urgent Intervention as Power Outages Cripple Businesses and Communities
by Ald Tania Campbell — DA Leader in Ekurhuleni
Date: 19 May 2023
Release: Immediate
Type: Media statement
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is calling on the immediate intervention of the Executive Mayor, Cllr. Sivuyile Ngodwana and his EFF appointed MMC for Water, Sanitation and Energy, Cllr. Leshaka Manamela, as prolonged power outages and the electricity crisis continues to cripple our communities and businesses.
The EFF-led Coalition has no strategic plans to safeguard our communities against failing infrastructure and to mitigate against the devastating impact of Stage 6 loadshedding on our already fragile local economy.
Under a DA Multi-Party Coalition, we regularly met with Eskom Executives to proactively find solutions to help alleviate the burden of load shedding on businesses and communities, as well as engaged with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) to establish a multi-disciplinary task team to protect our electrical infrastructure from theft and vandalism. The blueprint is there and the foundation has been laid. We urge the Executive Mayor to ensure these plans are implemented for the sake of our City and our local economy.
Our officials are overburdened with trying to restore power to areas where infrastructure has been damaged following hours of loadshedding, while Eskom struggles to merely keep the lights on.
Upon assuming office, the DA and our Multi-Party Coalition Partners expedited the City’s IPP programme by signing 47 agreements to assist with alleviating the City’s reliance on Eskom. Throughout the course of this year, various IPP projects were set to come online to begin feeding alternative sources of energy back into the electricity grid. Once complete, the IPP projects would result in just under 150 MW of power being produced with the ability to offset roughly one stage of loadshedding. I encourage the EFF-led coalition to follow through on this vital project, especially given the extreme possibility of stage 8 loadshedding in the upcoming winter season as announced by Eskom, yesterday.
These unprecedented levels of loadshedding are having a detrimental impact on our local economy and our communities. As the DA, we urgently call on the Executive Mayor to engage Eskom and key stakeholders to find a way forward and safeguard communities and businesses.
Ald. Tania Campbell
DA Caucus Leader, Ekurhuleni
