Overtime cuts ‘cripple service delivery’ in the north
Tshwane metro says adjustments to overtime hours were based on repeated findings by the Auditor General that the metro was regularly paying several employees more than 40 hours of overtime.
While the Tshwane metro insisted that recent overtime cuts would not compromise service delivery, residents in the north of Pretoria are already feeling the effects.
Residents claimed that delayed responses to power outages and water leaks have become an all-too-common experience.
Overtime has been capped for municipal workers at 40 hours per month and mostly prohibited on Sundays, except for critical emergencies involving bulk electricity, water or sewage.
However, these changes have caused concern in wards 2, 4, 50, 84, 96 and 98, where infrastructure is under strain and services often require after-hours intervention.
Despite the metro’s reassurance that service delivery will not be affected, ward councillors and residents tell a different story.
Luan Botha, a resident in Pretoria North, said it had been nine days since they had electricity.
“It was a switch at the pole that was faulty; they just replaced it, and I have power.
“The reason given to me is that streetlights in Soshanguve get preference, thus they did not come to fix mine,” said Botha.
Botha said he never thought that being without power could change his life so much. He said he had to boil his bath water in a small kettle and was in bed by 18:00.
“I am a pensioner and can’t afford solar and when the power goes off, I am screwed. I lost meat and milk that would’ve lasted me the whole month.
“Service delivery from Tshwane is very poor and sometimes non-existent, and the people on the ground are bound by what they are told to do.”
Similarly, business owner Kobus Coetzee said he reported a sewage leak eight days ago, but no one has come to fix it.
“The situation is very bad, the main sewage line is blocked and spilling out of the lid.
“All the sewage came down the road into our business,” said Coetzee.
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Community leader Dana Wannenburg said the overtime restriction has had a serious and negative impact on service delivery, particularly in critical departments such as Electricity and Water & Sanitation.
“While we fully understand the importance of cost-saving measures during difficult financial times, the blanket restrictions on overtime have led to a direct decline in service responsiveness.
“Under the new plan, overtime for essential repairs such as electrical fault response and water pipe bursts is now limited strictly to approved schedules, often leaving communities without power or water for extended periods.
“This is not just an inconvenience; it is a serious health, safety and service delivery failure. Residents affected by power outages or water disruptions are often forced to wait until normal working hours for assistance, causing widespread frustration and, in some cases, escalating minor issues into major, more costly repairs,” said Wannenburg.
He argued that instead of a blanket cut, the metro should apply a flexible, needs-based approach to overtime, especially in departments like Electricity and Water & Sanitation.
Residents of Pretoria North said they feel caught in the middle, left to navigate weekend service failures while government departments debate definitions and permissions.
Ward 50 councillor Lenise Breytenbach and Ward 2 councillor Quentin Meyer demanded uninterrupted service delivery, including repairs, seven days a week.
They said the recent overtime cut has severely impacted residents’ daily lives.
“We expect prompt action to restore essential services and meet our community’s needs.
“As paying customers, we deserve better. It’s time for the City of Tshwane to step up and balance our services,” said Breytenbach.
Ward 96 councillor Gé Breytenbach said the overtime cut is a huge problem for his ward.
“The teams only assist until 19:30 on weekdays and not on Sundays at all.
“I had residents who had to wait for assistance on the plots. It’s difficult if there is no electricity and no water because some residents are pensioners who do not have a lot of money to buy fuel or generators,” he said.
Ward 87 councillor Freddie Pienaar said the overtime cuts also had an impact in his ward.
Listen to Ward 84 councillor Anru Meyer:
Metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the municipality has taken note of misleading messages circulated on social media platforms by some community leaders, purporting that there will be prolonged power outages due to the city’s overtime curb.
Bokaba said it was not true that the changes to overtime have compromised service delivery.
“The adjustments to overtime hours were based on repeated findings by the Auditor-General that the metro was regularly paying several employees more than 40 hours overtime, which is a contravention of the Labour Relations Act. The act stipulates that overtime should only be limited to 40 hours per month.
“Furthermore, the metro’s resources are also under strain, and this prompted us to make hard choices regarding the management of overtime, without compromising the delivery of services to the consumers,” said Bokaba.
He said the changes were extensively canvassed with the Regional Directors for Electricity.
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