Whats going to happen to services in Lydenburg?

LYDENBURG – There is a lot of talk in town that someone should take over the municipality, but this cannot happen, as the Sannieshof test case which ended up in the constitutional court, stated that a municipality could not be excluded from its duties and therefore payments might not be withheld.

People want to know the facts and the current situation in Lydenburg regarding essential services. According to Mr Martiens van der Merwe few know that the critical services are currently being run by a so-called “technical task team” comprising large and medium businesses in and around town, working with some of the technical personnel of the municipality.

“It is a well-known fact that the town is facing serious challenges with regard to basic service delivery. Everyone in Lydenburg/Mashishing knows that there is a problem with the water and electricity supplies in town. But to what extend is the town being crippled with dilapidated and undermaintained and upgraded infrastructure? Few people know that a so-called “provincial task team” was set up to try to reverse or sustain the situation,” he said.

After Lydenburg Smelter, Two Rivers Platinum and Sterkspruit Estates came to the rescue when the water-treatment works flooded earlier this month, a meeting was held on March 12 between representatives of the smelter, the mines, local businesses and council representatives which included provincial task-team members.

Van der Merwe said the basic feedback received from council at this meeting was that the municipality is bankrupt and sinking deeper and deeper onto debt by the month and that this was why systems maintenance had been cut. Business requested answers from council about what had happened since the takeover by Mr Burton Koma as municipal manager when, according to information, council was only R1 million in the red.

Businesses replied that it was not the first time they had to come to the rescue or assisted, and referred to the fact that Lydenburg Smelter, prior to the Koma takeover, had rebuilt a portion of Voortrekker Road, helped the sewer- and a water-treatment plants to run at full capacity and assisted the financial accounts department to the point of being only R1 million in the red, which was, at that time, a major achievement.

Further contribution was made by the developers of Townlands Industrial, which rebuilt Viljoen Street from Burnman to the silos turn-off to the value of R3,5 million. Sterkspruit Estates repaired pumps and power lines on behalf of council, costing almost R500 000 and mines from the region contributed to the Rooidraai substation, which was still not working. It was agreed that the correct action must be a forensic audit on the past three years.

Van der Merwe said that because of the poor state of affairs, businesses had agreed to form a technical task team combining council and business, not only to operate the current structures until further notice, but also to plan repairs and improvements as well as infrastructure development and improvements. “It is a fact that the Lydenburg infrastructure is old and not designed for the current workload in some areas as the demand on these services has more than doubled.”

He and Mr Cor de Jager of the business sector were elected to manage the task team with Mr Ganon Nhubunga of council.

Van der Merwe who was requested to interact with the newspaper, said that during the meeting it was made clear that the engineering services department of municipality did not have the manpower and resources to address the current situation, therefore Lydenburg Smelter would currently continue with the operational duties at the treatment works to ensure sufficient clean water to the system. “Sterkspruit Estates supplies security and has cut the grass, as the council employees who used to work there had been suspended. They stopped working shifts because they did not receive their shift allowances. Mototolo donated the chemicals required for purification. Sterkspruit Estates continued with the operational duties at the museum reservoir and pump stations; they also cut the crass and were repairing the fence. Two Rivers Platinum made their electricians available to rebuild the electrical panels. Lydenburg Smelter was also investigating the sewer treatment plant but had not yet taken any action.”

Van der Merwe also revealed that the electrical network of Lydenburg was in serious risk of total collapse. He said the main reason for this was the faulty 10m VA transformer at Rooidraai. “It is reported that this transformer became faulty within three months after it was commissioned. A meeting with companies quoting for the repairs was held on March 18. Mr Cor de Jager would investigate the old 3.5m VA transformer in the council yard to see if it couold be used in the interim. The commissioning of the substation and the connection thereof to the southern portion of Lydenburg had become more than critical as the two transformers behind the high school at the golf course substation are running over capacity, with no protection. Any one of these or both transformers could collapse at any given moment. The substations are also deemed totally unsafe as any OSH Act inspector would condemn it immediately. It had been reported that officials of the technical department representing council made valuable inputs. They are really trying their best, but there is a serious problem with the management and current structure within Thaba Chweu. The technical staff is fighting a losing battle.”

Van der Merwe expressed a great word of thanks to Mr David Dippenaar who unselfishly made himself available to assist by pointing out and explaining installed services.

In response TCM said the issue of the collapsing electrical network was not true. “The substation in town has some challenges because of the issue of maintenance. The municipality in conjunction with the business people and the mines, has noted the risk of the substations running at near capacity. One transformer which is at the stores will, with the help of the mines, be tested and at Rooidraai Substation.”

The governing body told the newspaper that the substation had been vandalised and that insurance had paid out. “The tender for repairs had been advertised and closed and adjudication will be done and a service provider will be appointed to do the repairs.

On the lack of electricians, TCM said, “It should be noted that four electricians resigned in a very short time. The municipality has no power to stop officials if they indicate that they have received better offers elsewhere. The posts will be advertised.”