– Emfuleni industrial business park without power for 23 days.
– Millions lost in revenue and jobs on the line
– Transformer suppliers refuse to work without upfront pay
English and isiZulu soundbites by Cllr Prudence Hlanyane
While Emfuleni Residents have been hearing that they have neither an adjustment budget, nor a mayor, the Democratic Alliance (DA) can today reveal the true cost of that: livelihoods.
Duncanville Extension 3 in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), a major industrial business park in the Vaal which consists of engineering firms, factories, tyre retreaders, and other major employers, has been without electricity for 23 days now.
Despite the DA intervening to the level of the COO and the Municipal Manager on behalf of these businesses, nothing has happened. Historically Emfuleni has been slow to do their work, it now seems like the municipality simply does not have the money to procure the transformers needed.
The DA can further reveal that the suppliers of transformers to the municipality has refused to do the work, without receiving payment upfront. A symptom of what happens when municipalities fail. When municipalities fail residents are left in the dark and life becomes miserable. This is not what a caring government looks like.
ELM is now responsible for the loss of millions of rands worth in revenue, as businesses have been unable to operate, and more so, should be held accountable for the millions of rands that have been spent by businesses who have been running generators.
Sadly, not all businesses are able to run their equipment on alternative sources. The heavy industrial equipment’s electricity requirements far outweigh what anything close to an affordable generator can supply.
Now, as one businessowner has put it to us “I will have to get into contact with HR, to start closing down processes”. Just this one business shutting its doors will cost 16 families their breadwinners.
One business owner revealed that he spends approximately R60 000.00 per day on diesel to keep the lights, and machinery one. That means he has spent more than R1.3 million, just to keep the lights on. That is above and beyond the lost revenue, which he estimates to be in the region of more than R3 million.
We once again make a plea to the Premier of Gauteng – intervene. Get Emfuleni in line, and importantly, get your party in line. He must act now, lives are at stake.