Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Nico De Jager MPL.
Gauteng residents, particularly in the Johannesburg CBD, are constantly left scrambling to find an alternative electricity supply because City Power is unable to provide electricity to all its residents.
Johannesburg residents are often left without electricity for up to seven days or longer. This is yet another failure of Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government.
Electricity outages are becoming alarmingly routine, leaving thousands of households and businesses in darkness, food that spoils, and even vulnerable people who might need oxygen at serious risk.
While Executive Mayor Dada Morero may highlight the full payment to Eskom, the reality is grim: City Power, the entity responsible for electricity distribution, is cash-strapped and incapable of providing reliable service to its residents.
This is not what one expects from a caring government. The excuses of stolen and vandalised substations, cable faults, and theft of cables are no longer acceptable.
These failures reflect a catastrophic mismanagement of infrastructure and resources that leaves our communities vulnerable and suffering. Residents in areas like Lombardy, Kew, Gresswold, and the Johannesburg CBD are frustrated by weekly outages, which they have to endure with the same justifications each time.
In these areas, power outages often go hand in hand with burst pipes, further adding to the stress that these residents must live with daily.
Immediate and decisive action is required to address these failures. Municipalities must prioritise the security and maintenance of electrical infrastructure.
The DA will engage the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo to intervene and assist the City of Johannesburg to ensure they deliver uninterrupted electricity supply to its residents.
Johannesburg residents deserve reliable electricity; it is a necessity, not a privilege. Action must be taken now to end the suffering caused by electricity failures. The time for excuses has passed. It is time for results.
The DA has a plan in place to fix this problem. Our energy security plan will address the electricity issues faced by our residents. A DA government would put in protective measures for substations, including surveillance systems and enhanced security. We will ensure the electricity infrastructure is properly secured to avoid weekly outages. We will also ensure proactive maintenance is conducted on the electricity infrastructure.