KwaDukuza municipality council rejected a proposal to spend an additional R75-million on electricity maintenance contracts two weeks ago, despite warnings that the decision could delay repairs.

The municipality wanted to increase spending limits on three contracts covering street lighting, overhead power lines and substations, and extend them until June 30, 2027, while replacement tenders were finalised.

According to the council agenda, extensive repairs following the June 2024 tornado and March 2025 floods, along with ongoing theft and vandalism, had driven up maintenance costs. The proposed increases would have raised the maximum spending limit from R15-million to R20-million each for four low-voltage contractors, and from R10-million to R15-million each for five overhead-line contractors and six substation contractors.

Together, the increases amounted to R75-million.

The low-voltage contract had already been increased from R10-million to R15-million per contractor in April 2025.

Mayor Siduduzo Gumede questioned the consequences of rejecting the proposals.

“What will be the effect of that? Because it looks like 90% of us don’t want to take this decision,” he asked.

Officials warned that while some low-voltage repairs, including street lighting, could be handled internally, limited resources would cause delays. Medium-voltage repairs could prove difficult without contractors because the municipality lacked some of the necessary specialised skills.

ActionSA councillor Nel Sewraj questioned whether approving the increases could result in irregular expenditure, citing conflicting advice from officials.

“It seems like legal and supply chain management are clashing here. So we need to get to the bottom of it to protect ourselves,” he said.

The Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association (Docrra) welcomed council’s decision.

Chairperson Deon Viljoen blamed poor planning and contract management for repeated requests to extend multimillion-rand contracts.

“Every year council is asked to roll-over multi million rand contracts at the last minute, and with inadequate information,” he said.

The three contracts expire between January 9 and February 18 next year. Replacement tenders are expected to be advertised before the end of November.