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During the week of 17 June 2024, residents of Hennenman and Ventersburg in Matjhabeng Local Municipality endured power outages lasting between 5 and 7 days due to a spate of cable thefts.

This crisis highlighted severe deficiencies in the Municipality’s procurement processes, marked by significant delays and conflicting information from various departments. Despite multiple requests for assistance, inconsistent updates regarding the availability and procurement of the necessary materials were given to the community.

The shortage of materials and lengthy procurement processes are placing an immense burden on residents. Municipal officials are often forced to make do with whatever spare materials they have, sometimes using household pipes as spacers to complete the work. This leads to further issues, such as cables touching and creating shorts during slight winds, resulting in repeated power outages. Additionally, trees are not being pruned, causing wires to get stuck in branches and creating more outages.

When there are burst pipes, resulting in significant water losses, the first response from the Municipality is often that there is no material available and they are busy sourcing it, making essential repairs impossible over weekends. If a resident reports a leaking tap at the water meter, they are asked to buy the tap themselves for the officials to fix it. This occurs while residents are still required to pay their bills on time to avoid having their electricity disconnected.

We demand answers and solutions to several pressing issues and a set of questions will be submitted to be answered at the next Council meeting.

We seek an explanation for the significant delay in procuring materials needed to restore electricity after the cable thefts on 17 June 2024.

The Council must provide a detailed timeline of the procurement process from the initial request to the final delivery of materials.

It must clarify why conflicting information was provided by the Supply Chain and Electrical Departments regarding material availability and procurement.

Answers must be provided on what steps are being taken to ensure that critical materials are readily available to prevent future delays.

Improved communication and coordination between different departments involved in procurement and service delivery is crucial.

The municipality must also take immediate action to curb the ongoing issue of cable theft.

We request a clear plan for repairing and maintaining these essential public utilities. Similarly, the persistent lack of materials for repairing burst water pipes, replacing water meters, and other essential maintenance tasks needs to be addressed urgently.

For transparency and accountability, the DA will also request the Council to provide copies of the quotations and final invoices for the materials procured to restore electricity after the recent cable thefts. The residents of Hennenman and Ventersburg deserve reliable service delivery and a responsive, transparent municipal government.

Issued by Maxie Badenhorst - DA Councillor Matjhabeng Local Municipality