The power outage in the Pretoria suburb of East Lynne is out of control, and it’s time for the Tshwane Metro to rally additional resources and personnel to restore power.
English and Afrikaans soundbites by Ald Cilliers Brink
Today marks the eleventh day of no power in this suburb following a fire at the Koedoespoort substation last year.
While teams are onsite, none of the communication about when power will be restored has been credible. For every cable fault fixed, two or more new faults arise.
As a result, Councillors do not have credible information to relay to increasingly frustrated residents.
To make a breakthrough, the City needs to allocate additional personnel and resources. Management also needs to be on site to inspect the work.
Unplanned power outages have increased in number and duration in the past year, a situation made worse by the defunding of electricity teams earlier this year.
As Tshwane has spent more on water tankers and security companies, it has spent less on infrastructure.
But this not an excuse for the complete absence of leadership in the management of crisis situations. In short, it is time for Tshwane’s leadership to come back from holiday.