While the KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) says it is making inroads into the energy loss crisis, civic groups believe it has become too big for officials to handle.

This comes after KDM’s mid-year adjustment budget revealed it had lost R242-million worth of electricity at a rate of over R1.3-million a day, heavily contributing to a budget deficit of R219.6-million. Losses over the past three years are estimated to exceed R1.2-billion.

In response, the KwaDukuza Residents Forum (KDRF) called for changes in the KDM electricity department and for turnaround programmes to be implemented immediately. Forum director Mark Whitehead said residents were no longer willing to accept vague explanations and demanded oversight measures.

“Accountability must be real. During the same period in which electricity losses have steadily increased and revenue has deteriorated, the municipal manager and the executive director responsible for the electricity function have repeatedly received performance bonuses,” said Whitehead.

“Residents are entitled to ask a simple question: ‘How can executive performance be rated as deserving of a bonus while the municipality’s largest revenue stream is deteriorating at crisis levels year after year?’”

The electricity issue was again raised in a Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) meeting last Tuesday (March 10), where officials were grilled by civic groups and councillors. MPAC chairperson Thulile Mkhize of the African Transformation Movement party described the crisis as a serious risk and questioned why some mitigation plans were marked complete despite poor results.

KDM spokesperson Bridget Shange said the municipality was working to remedy the situation and that more than R24-million in previously unbilled electricity has been recovered in the last three years. This follows an audit of 493 large power users, which identified 118 accounts for under-recorded usage. Three hundred defects were also found and corrected, improving billing accuracy.

Shange said KDM undertook a root cause analysis and developed a structured energy loss reduction programme. She said an external service provider would be appointed to support KDM with the programme and that a report would be presented to council on March 26.

She also addressed calls for personnel change at the electricity department.

“Recognising that energy loss reduction is a strategic financial and revenue protection priority, rather than a purely technical issue, it would be irrational to attribute systemic challenges to one particular individual, as a multi-disciplinary approach is required in this regard,” she said.

However, KDRF chairperson Warwick Chapman said the time for internal reflection at the municipality had passed.

“They know exactly what the causes are and simply need a team that has the will, capacity and determination to execute on all the pain points and deliver a turnaround,” he said.

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