The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Emfuleni is exposing possible theft and gross financial mismanagement within Emfuleni municipality around an electricity upgrade project. Both of these are potentially contributing to the electricity crisis that residents are facing.
The DA conducted an oversight visit this week and it was revealed that last Thursday individuals allegedly removed the newly installed Neutral Earthing Compensator (NEC) from the substation on the instruction of a municipal employee.
This is deeply concerning as this component was brand new, which suggests that there has been possible theft – and the circumstances demand answers from municipal employees who were associated with the act.
The DA will be opening a criminal case to investigate why this vital piece of equipment was removed on the instruction of municipal employees.
Further, the municipality has already spent nearly R60 million on the substation, yet the residents of Emfuleni are still to benefit.
In Council, it was revealed that now an additional R79 million is required to fully repair and complete the project. The DA has been fighting this issue through petitions, statements in council, and public meetings.
Why was the original budget not adhered to and the R60 million not spent in a fiscally responsible manner?
We should not be rewarding failure and gross mismanagement with another R79 million.
Insufficient funding is not the issue, maladministration is, and until there is a change of management, implementation of the project will continue to be compromised.
When millions have been spent with no tangible outcomes and more money is then demanded, there is something amiss, and inflated contracts are not the solution, good governance is.
Clearly, the ANC-led municipality cannot be entrusted with more of taxpayers money to mishandle.
Residents and businesses in Vanderbijlpark, those in the Central West (CW) areas, Bophelong, and Bonane, continue to experience severe disruptions to their daily lives and operations due to ongoing power outages and an unreliable electricity supply from the Currie Boulevard Substation.
This is resulting in the devastating impact of businesses shutting down, investors pulling out, people losing their jobs and residents quality of life deteriorating.
A DA run municipality will work towards ensuring that the substation is functioning optimally and providing a steady supply of electricity to the residents of Emfuleni, effectively delivering basic services to the community.