The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg is deeply concerned that City Power is rapidly deteriorating before the eyes of residents, as prolonged outages and a complete breakdown in communication and accountability has become the norm
Across multiple areas in Johannesburg, residents have now been left without electricity for between 4 to 6 days. Councillors are being ignored on official communication platforms, with repeated requests for updates met only with generic, non-informative responses.
Even more alarming are reports from residents that contractors, despite being allocated jobs, refuse to carry out repairs due to non-payment by City Power. This raises serious concerns about the entity’s financial management and its ability to deliver basic services.
In November 2023, the DA submitted requests in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), seeking transparency on contractor appointments, invoices, quality control measures, and payment records. We also requested the process followed in all senior appointments. These requests were received and acknowledged, but despite public money being spent we have yet to receive the requested information in writing.
This blatantly undermines transparency and actively blocks public representatives from fulfilling their constitutional oversight role.
The DA Johannesburg will not allow this to continue unchecked. We are actively exploring all available avenues, including escalation to law enforcement and oversight bodies, to ensure accountability and restore service delivery to residents.
With the rise in vandalism of infrastructure, the DA will also be requesting specific investigation into the security at City Power and the link between officials, contractors and security at key infrastructure points.
Residents deserve answers. More importantly, they deserve electricity.