The DA in Dipaleseng has written to the Municipal Manager, Lwazi Cindi, to urgently act on the municipality’s deteriorating electricity infrastructure.
Previously, residents and businesses in Balfour were subjected to weeks of power outages. At the time, it was understood that a faulty transformer was the cause of these blackouts in the municipality.
Recently, we have seen a letter from Eskom that was directed to the municipal manager. In the letter, the power supply company criticized the municipality for failing to install adequate protection to their electricity grid.
Due to the above, Eskom infrastructure has been exposed in the municipality as it had to replace five transformers in the past five years.
Eskom has also indicated that several meetings with the municipality have not produced positive results. It is also reported that the municipality has still not addressed these challenges.
According to the power supply company, the municipality must conduct an audit to determine the severity of the faults that are in their electricity grid.
This assessment will help the municipality identify and replace damaged infrastructure. However, we note that this will depend on the availability of resources.
Businesses and residents in Dipaleseng have been subject to mediocre services from the ANC administration in this municipality. Ratepayers cannot continue to suffer because of the municipality’s shortcomings.
It is high time that the municipality reaches an agreement with Eskom as residents deserve an accountable government that will prioritize their needs and endeavor to provide a consistent power supply.