The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the MEC of COGHTSA, Bentley Vass, to provide support to the Magareng municipality, as a prolonged power outage threatens to put a damper on the festive season for Warrenton residents.
Certain areas in Warrenvale and the station area have been without electricity for the last three days. Residents have bought their Christmas food but their fridges have been off since Wednesday, and food is starting to spoil.
There seems to be no viable solution in sight. Electricians have been struggling for the past 48 hours to try and reconnect a broken underground cable, without success. The electricity network is aged and faulty, making the task challenging. Based on the latest communication received, the municipality now plans to erect a new 11 kV overhead line to restore power in a safer, longer lasting way.
There is not adequate communication between the municipality and the community. Key staff are also on leave and no measures have been put in place to deal with emergency shutdowns. To aggravate the situation, the water plant is also affected by the power crisis, having a knock-on effect on water supply.
The DA is concerned that the municipality is not able to provide a clear indication of by when this crisis will be resolved, or of adequate mitigation measures implemented to lessen the strain on residents. Due to limited communication with the municipal manager, we have reached out to Mec Vass, to help provide technical support and facilitate a speedy solution to the power outage, and the developing water crisis.
Everyone deserves a festive season, with lights and water and basic services.