JOHANNESBURG – The Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings has issued a call to action to the Gauteng Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), urging them to address and resolve the persistent electricity challenges afflicting the Emfuleni Local Municipality.

According to Parliament of South Africa, the call was made during a session where the committee reviewed a petition submitted by Mr. Dennis Ryder, a permanent delegate to the National Council of Province (NCOP) from Gauteng, on behalf of the Emfuleni residents. The petition sought the intervention of the NCOP in investigating the electricity supply issues prevalent in the municipality. The committee expressed its dissatisfaction with the lack of urgency displayed by key stakeholders, including ESKOM, COGTA, and the Emfuleni Local Municipality, in their efforts to alleviate the electricity issues faced by the citizens of Emfuleni.

COGTA, during the meeting, disclosed to the committee that the Emfuleni municipality has accrued the highest debt to ESKOM within the province. However, the committee critiqued COGTA’s portrayal of the situation, pointing out that their explanation did not adequately highlight the role COGTA had played in addressing the electricity challenges before they escalated to the current crisis level. The committee observed the extensive problems stemming from deteriorating infrastructure, exacerbated by illegal electricity connections. Additionally, the committee raised concerns about the municipality incurring annual losses amounting to R1.3 billion due to water and electricity wastage.

Representatives from Eskom informed the committee of ongoing initiatives to replace faulty and damaged transformers within the municipality. Nevertheless, the committee learned that these efforts are sometimes thwarted as transformers tend to fail repeatedly due to the continual bypassing of electricity meter boxes and the persistence of illegal electricity connections.

Concluding the session, the committee put forth recommendations, urging Eskom to collaborate closely with local councilors. This partnership aims to ensure that residents properly remit their electricity payments into the correct accounts and to keep the community informed about the progress made in replacing faulty transformers.