JRA and City Power addressed service delivery woes
As power outages, and road repair delays, plague residents, City Power and JRA addressed their challenges on what hinders service repairs and increases disruptions.
As power outages and unattended road reinstatements plague the community, residents are increasingly concerned that local entities are failing to adhere to their service level agreements (SLAs).
Khaya Gqibitole, head of department for regional operations at Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), stated that they do not face challenges with its SLA, and that JRA does resolve problems in line with the City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) customer charter requirements, as well as the performance measurements highlighted in the service delivery agreement (SDA). “Unless there are other obstacles, like theft and vandalism, which require intense work beyond the usual maintenance, as highlighted in the SDA.”
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With potholes, JRA aims to repair them within 14 days. JRA also conducts proactive initiatives to prevent the formation of potholes through the road resurfacing programme, deep and skin patching initiatives. However, rapidly aging infrastructure, and budget limitations, delay the response time in some instances, according to Gqibitole. “We are committed to addressing road defects across Johannesburg and have trained personnel equipped with the necessary technical knowledge to conduct repairs. We encourage the public to report any road or storm water related issues using JRA’s available reporting platforms.”
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When power comes into play on SLA’s, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena outlined the current SLAs for power restoration, specifying that they aim to restore power within designated time frames depending on the severity of the outage. For instance:
• 30% restoration within 1.5 hours.
• 60% restoration within 3.5 hours.
• 90% restoration within 7.5 hours.
• 98% restoration within 24 hours.
• 100% restoration within 168 hours/7 days.
When an outage is reported, a team is dispatched to investigate, which may involve a thorough inspection of the network, including substations and underground cables, according to Mangena. “Adverse weather conditions, such as recent rainfall, have further complicated repair efforts, causing delays in restoration times.”
Both Gqibitole and Mangena acknowledged that external factors often impede timely repairs.
For City Power, challenges, such as cable theft and high demand for repairs following a spike in outages, have strained resources and caused delays in sourcing necessary equipment.
Mangena reassured residents that City Power remains committed to its SLA, providing real-time updates through WhatsApp groups to keep affected customers informed throughout the process.
The ongoing issues with power outages and road repairs have left residents feeling frustrated and concerned about the reliability of essential services, but both JRA and City Power are working to address these challenges. Residents, however, are calling for more effective collaboration and communication to ensure that service delivery meets the expectations outlined in their respective SLAs.
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