Suburbs in the Ekurhuleni municipality experience at least one power failure a day, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Wednesday.
”This is unnecessary and restrictive to businesses,” said Paul Willemburg, DA spokesperson on local government in Gauteng.
He made the comment after constant contact with councillors and listening to a radio broadcast on which Jacob Marogo, Eskom chief executive, was ”evasive” and non-committal about plans to curb the problem.
”Listening to the CEO of Eskom on the radio, it is also clear that the company has no plan in place to deal with the issue. When pressed, his answers were evasive and non-committal, and in the meantime ratepayers are suffering,” Willemburg said.
He said the problem gives the country a poor image ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, when many tourists are expected. ”If we are suffering blackouts now, three years before the big show in 2010, what will happen in 2010? How will it look to tourists?” he asked.
Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu said the issue of power failures in the area is not his company’s problem but that of the Ekurhuleni municipality.
”If you have a suburb in Ekurhuleni which receives supply problems, it is an issue which requires the attention of the Ekurhuleni metro,” he said. If the problem is a bulk supply problem, where there are power failures around the area, then Eskom will be held responsible.
Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said it is ”true that there were power-failure problems in the area”. The problem is in ”some instances on the municipality side and on other occasions on the Eskom side”.
He said the power failures are caused by infrastructural problems and cable theft.
Earlier this month, Bedfordview went without electricity for three days when an oil-filled feeder cable went down while its back-up was also out of action. Eskom blamed the installation of a closed-circuit television communication cable for the fault on the back-up line and wear-and-tear for that on the other line.
Businesses — including the Eastgate shopping centre and several restaurants — said they had lost millions in turnover and perished goods as a result of the power cuts. — Sapa