Germiston residents spend days without power

by Cllr. Graham Gersbach — DA Ward 92 Councillor in Ekurhuleni

Date: 06 August 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni is appalled by the ANC Coalition’s* inability to manage power supply in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE).

Once again, Homestead residents in Germiston were left without power for over five days.

Residents in Homestead had to endure darkness owing to no power from the 29th of July until the 04th of August 2021. This incident was first reported at 21h30 on the 29th, but power was only restored on the afternoon of the 4th of August. During the said period, the incident was reported over 20 times.

During the period of the outage, the DA Ward Councillor contacted the Energy Department at least five times a day to get an update on the matter, and absolutely no feedback was given. It was only on the morning of the 3rd of August that the Councillor was informed that restoration would happen by 21h00 that evening. Yet, power restoration did not happen at the communicated time.

The DA also escalated the matter to the Head of Energy, the Chief Operating Officer, and the City Manager. The Chief Operating Officer responded for the first time on the afternoon of 2 August (four days later), saying he was investigating, and no further feedback was given. The first form of feedback from the Energy Department was only received on the 3rd of August. On the same day, the City Manager also responded, citing that the City was working on the backlog. While restoration was expected to take place on the 3rd, the CoE was still investigating further cable faults on the 4th of August.

It is absolutely ridiculous that residents must endure unexplained power outages for extended periods of time, without any meaningful communication and feedback from the delegated officials and the Energy Department. Residents have expressed their frustration and disappointment with the CoE at the lack of urgency in dealing with this outage.

These incessant power outages are disruptive for residents and businesses, and the ANC and its coalition partners do not seem to care.

Ekurhuleni’s failing infrastructure further exacerbates the issue of frequent power outages and the ANC and its coalition partners have not bothered to invest in the upgrading of the City’s infrastructure, despite the DA’s pleas.

At the recent Council Meeting, the DA motioned Council to act decisively on the ongoing power issues plaguing Ekurhuleni. However, the ANC and its coalition partners denied our motion. Indicating the complete lack of political will to fix this issue.

The dismal failure to deliver basic services highlights the incompetence of the ANC and its coalition partners. The residents of Ekurhuleni deserve a well-run government that delivers basic services. A DA-run Ekurhuleni will get the basics right by ensuring effective and responsive service delivery.

#Time4Change

*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr Graham Gersbach

DA Ward 92 Councillor in Ekurhuleni