The DA applauds the swift response of the Executive Mayor and MMC to Electricity Outage in Kwa-Thema
by Cllr Precious Jacobs — DA PR Councillor in Ekurhuleni
Date: 21 February 2023
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Kwa-Thema welcomes the restoration and swift intervention from the MMC of Water and Energy, Senzi Sibeko in restoring the electricity and giving power back to the residents.
On Monday 13 February 2023, the community of Kwa-Thema took to the streets to protest after they were left for days without electricity. A major substation that provides electricity to Kwa-Thema malfunctioned leaving the entire township without power. Some areas of the township were more severely affected than others.
Upon hearing about the protest, Executive Mayor, Ald. Tania Campbell, deployed Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) and senior officials to the area to bring calm to the situation and provide reassurance about the efforts to restore electricity. MMC for Water, Sanitation, and Energy, Cllr Senzi Sibeko, was among the MMCs who were deployed to the area to assist.
With over R2 billion already lost to power outages, the Executive Mayor relayed concerns around the severe damage that loadshedding, cable theft, and illegal connections are causing to electricity infrastructure across the city, and in particular, to the 25 MVA transformers in the area.
A public meeting was held with the community where MMC Sibeko outlined temporary measures to resolve the electricity issue as well as provide an estimated restoration time, which was since met as stated. Due to delays caused by poor weather conditions, the team opted to install of a temporary cable to link the two substations to provide parallel power supply to the affected areas, to bring temporary relief, while the transformer underwent repairs and testing.
Unfortunately, some residents saw the community protest as an opportunity to loot shops and vandalize municipal infrastructure. Although we fully respect the freedoms and rights of residents to assemble, demonstrate, and picket, we condone any acts of violence and destruction and condemn such behaviours as an act of crime.
We are, nevertheless, hopeful about the proactive measures put in place by the Multi-Party Coalition and Eskom, to stabilize the grid and protect our electricity network. The first units of our 47 IPPs are also expected to come online this year which will help reduce our reliance on Eskom supply by 25%, shielding businesses and residents from the effects of loadshedding.
The DA believes that every effort of government must be focused on improving the lives of our residents. Efficient public administration is a critical enabler as it lays a foundation for partnership between government and residents.
In the interim, we will continue the fight for accountability and improved service delivery in Kwa-Thema.
residents.
Cllr Precious Jacobs
DA PR Councillor in Ekurhuleni
076 712 5405
