Mayor promises restored electricity to Kwa-Thema by May 29
Some parts of the township were reconnected after Monareng substation A was switched back on.
Kwa-Thema – The mayor of Ekurhuleni, Sivuyile Ngodwana, and MMCs announced that electricity would be restored to the area by May 29.
He made the announcement while visiting the Kwa-Thema main substation to monitor developments since it burnt down on May 11.
This was part of the Mayoral Friday Service Delivery to re-energies public leadership visibility on the ground and accelerate turn-around time to public complaints about service delivery.
On his first visit to the site, the mayor said remedying the problem would take seven days, but 14 days later, parts of the community remained in the dark.
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When again switching on Monareng substation A, sections of the township were reconnected
Ngodwana told the media that their estimated time for resolving the problem would be seven days after a preliminary investigation.
“We expect the cables to be reconnected before the trenching. However, I was told that would not be possible because of safety reasons due to cable theft.
“It is also cheaper to fix the transformer than buy a new one. This, too, would depend on the insurance assessment of the damage,” Ngodwana said.
Two contractors and 30 volunteers from the community will do the manual trenching.
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Ngodwana said they couldn’t bring in TLBs (tractor-loader-backhoe) yet because they wanted the construction to go smoothly without being disturbed by protests over residents’ employment.
“Residents are unemployed, and this is an opportunity for them to get temporary income and be able to put food on their tables,” Ngodwana said.
On May 17, 50 people started digging trenches to lay down a temporary cable from the Vulcania South substation in Brakpan.
The residents downed tools on Friday, claiming they had not received employment contracts.
The workers were told they would not get paid for not working on the day and that their contracts would stipulate that they would be paid, as per 10m dug a day.
Ngodwana said the residents would be reconnected if all went well and there were no disturbances.
“We will try to fast-track the process to accelerate it,” he concluded.
