DA mayoral candidate takes service delivery campaign to Germiston
She said the purpose of the visit was to engage directly with residents and gain a first-hand understanding of the challenges they face.
DA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane continued her campaign to place service delivery challenges at the centre of the political agenda last Tuesday, visiting residents and key sites in Germiston to assess ongoing challenges affecting communities.
Her visit focused particularly on Dukathole, an area that continues to grapple with electricity challenges, vandalism, illegal connections, crime and other service delivery concerns.
She began the day at the Dukathole substation, where she conducted an oversight visit focused on the impact of vandalism and illegal electricity connections on the reliability of power supply in the area.
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The substation plays an important role in supplying electricity to parts of Germiston, including areas serving the industrial economy of Germiston East and Germiston South.
She said the purpose of the visit was to engage directly with residents and gain a first-hand understanding of the challenges they face.
“We’re here to listen to their concerns and see first-hand the challenges they face with basic service delivery, and to better understand the area,” said Rasilingwane.
The electricity crisis has broader implications for the local economy, with unreliable power potentially affecting businesses, industrial operations, employment and investment in the area.
For residents, the challenges extend beyond electricity. Communities in and around Dukathole have also raised concerns about crime and the broader impact of deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate service delivery.
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Her visit forms part of her continued efforts to engage communities directly and place local service delivery failures under scrutiny ahead of the upcoming local government elections.
Engaging elderly residents
Following the substation oversight, Rasilingwane visited Kinross Herberg Old Age Home, where she met with elderly residents to hear about their experiences and concerns.
The engagement provided an opportunity for the mayoral candidate to hear directly from senior citizens about issues affecting their daily lives and the services they rely on.
She said engagements such as these are important because political leadership should not be limited to council chambers.
By taking the campaign into communities, she aims to understand the lived experiences of residents and identify the issues that require urgent intervention.
The Germiston visit forms part of the DA’s broader campaign message around accountability, reliable basic services and responsive local government.
For residents of Dukathole and surrounding areas, however, the key question will be whether political promises translate into practical improvements – particularly when it comes to electricity reliability, infrastructure maintenance, crime and the protection of essential municipal assets.
As Ekurhuleni heads towards another crucial political contest, service delivery is expected to remain one of the defining issues for voters, with communities demanding visible action on long-standing challenges.
