Water, Sanitation & Energy — The Ekurhuleni Power Crisis
By Cllr Simon Lapping- DA Shadow MMC for Water, Sanitation and Energy in Ekurhuleni
Date: 23 March 2021
Release: Immediate
Power outages have reached crisis level in the ANC-led Coalition* CoE. For years now, residents and businesses in Ekurhuleni have been affected by rampant and incessant power outages.
The City experiences over 1500 unplanned outages a day, thus putting businesses and residents’ lives and their livelihoods at risk.
The constant power outages force factories and small businesses with no other option but to close their doors until power is restored. This has sadly had a ripple effect, affecting workers and productivity, which has resulted in huge financial losses for workers as well as businesses.
South Africa and the CoE are in a crisis, with unemployment rapidly escalating and small businesses struggling to stay afloat. The residents of Ekurhuleni simply cannot afford these outages.
It is becoming quite clear that the ANC and its coalition partners have allowed the Energy Department to become the neglected department of the Municipality. The Energy Department has faced severe staff shortages and the ANC-led Coalition administration has shown that it does not have the political will to address this urgent issue.
As it currently stands, the Metro has approximately 890 staff in the Energy Department, when it should have a minimum of 1600 staff as a set standard by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Why is the CoE not ramping up the filling of vacancies in the Energy Department when the City is facing this enormous energy crisis?
The City’s failing infrastructure further exacerbates the issue of frequent power outages and the CoE has not bothered to invest in the upgrading of its infrastructure.
When Ekurhuleni residents are not enduring days and weeks in darkness, they are subjected to massive and persistent sewer spillages and leaks. There has been an upsurge of sewerage leaks around the City, and some areas are constantly flooded by raw sewer. Ekurhuleni residents should not be expected to live in such unsanitary conditions, as they pose enormous health and safety threats.
A DA-led Ekurhuleni will:
· Invest in infrastructure to decrease load-shedding and the City’s reliance on traditional sources of power, by sourcing alternative energy from Independent Power Producers (IPP). We want a future where residents are free from Eskom load-shedding.
· Prioritise the regular maintenance and refurbishment of municipal infrastructure.
· Establish a customer service improvement programme to ensure quality customer experience. Improve the functioning of the call centre and turn-around times on service delivery queries.
For a video on the state of Water, Sanitation and Energy in Ekurhuleni, click the link below:
Cllr Simon Lapping
DA Shadow MMC for Water, Sanitation and Energy in Ekurhuleni
