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Businesses in Kestell in the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality have been running on generators to power their industries after lightning on 28 November 2022 left parts of the town in darkness. The municipality's lack of urgency has led to a possible collapse in the local economy as businesses have to generate their own electricity.

Multiple businesses have informed the DA that their profits are being wiped out by the cost of fuel, running up to R 3000 per day. The municipality assured the DA that a deviation had been signed for the emergency repairs, yet 21 days later the mini-sub that was affected has not been replaced.

On the 29th of November, some repairs were done to cables that allowed supply to the centre of town (where most businesses are located) leaving some areas without power. Supply Chain Management informed us that a deviation was obtained and that a contractor would be appointed by Friday, 2 December and that the contractor will replace the mini-sub as soon as possible.

On Monday, 5 December a contractor was appointed, however, by 8 December the contractor had not started. On 10 December the municipality installed a transformer, as a temporary measure, to ensure electrical supply to more areas that were affected. However, an internal fuse blew, and the municipality did not have a spare fuse to replace it.

On Monday, 12 December, the transformer was attended to and most of the power was temporarily restored. This did, unfortunately, not include some businesses in town which still must run generators to keep their power going and to keep trading.

Upon enquiries by the DA, on Tuesday 13 December, MaP informed the DA that the contractor had not been tax compliant with SARS and that the contract had been cancelled and a new contractor would be appointed. According to the municipality, a new contractor was appointed and would start repairs on 16 December 2022. Again, this did not happen.

On Monday, 19 December, the DA again contacted the municipality to get feedback on why the contractor had not yet started with repairs. We were informed that the contractor could not procure the necessary spares due to the long weekend but would be on site to replace the mini-sub in the afternoon. At this time, no contractor has reported to the site to start repairs.

Where the DA governs, we remain committed to keeping the lights on and prioritising emergency repairs. Loadshedding has been detrimental to businesses and where emergency repairs have to be done, it must be done quickly and efficiently.

The DA will demand answers from the Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality on the process that was followed to appoint contractors and the reasons why the contractors had not treated the repairs as urgent. The DA has also requested the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to assist in getting this critical issue sorted out. We will continue to put daily pressure on the municipality to ensure that the community of Kestell receives good governance.

Issued by Bea Campbell-Cloete - DA Councillor Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality