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Solutions to address Nelson Mandela Bay’s electricity crisis

By

Dear Editor

Constant power outages across Nelson Mandela Bay are threatening our already stagnating economy, while an excessive backlog in streetlight repairs and temporary connections is exposing our residents to criminality and life-threatening living conditions.

The cause of the failing state of electricity services squarely rests on the ANC/EFF/NA/PA coalition government and the near-total inability of the municipality’s electricity and energy directorate to deliver on its mandate.

Today, 13 February 2024, the DA caucus in Nelson Mandela Bay handed over a memorandum addressed to the city manager, Dr Noxolo Nqwazi, highlighting the failings of the directorate and providing urgent interventions to turn the situation around. The memorandum was accepted by the municipality’s COO, Christopher Dyani, at City Hall in Gqeberha.

The DA highlighted the following critical areas of concern:

  • Unplanned and unscheduled power outages.
  • Backlog in attending to between 8000 and 10 000 streetlights across the city.
  • Broken and vandalised high mast lights.
  • Very slow progress in eradicating temporary connections, which pose a massive danger to our communities.
  • Lack of proper communication between the directorate and councillors.

We want to be part of the solution to fix the directorate and make sure that the quality of services provided to our communities steadily improves.

This is why we put the following solutions and/or demands on the table:

  • Sufficient budget allocation is to be made available in the Adjustments Budget to address the backlog of faulty streetlights and high mast lights within the next four to six months.
  • Sufficient budget allocation is to be made available in the Adjustments Budget to address the backlog of temporary connections within the next four to six months.
  • A proper work plan is to be developed by the directorate to deal with faulty streetlights and high mast lights. This work plan must be developed in consultation with ward councillors.
  • The council must be furnished with an urgent report as to the most vulnerable electrical substations that need additional funding for infrastructure upgrades.

Amended standard operating procedures concerning crisis, emergency, and general communications from the directorate.
The DA cannot stand back and allow this directorate to put our residents in danger and draw the lifeblood from our economy.

We will continue to fight to Rescue Nelson Mandela Bay from the current failing coalition government. Together we can get NMB working again.

Regards

Cllr Retief Odendaal
DA NMB Caucus Leader

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