The Tshwane metro has moved to calm fears of a looming digital collapse after opposition warnings that failures in its information and communication technology environment could trigger a citywide systems blackout.

The concerns surfaced in the wake of governance turmoil and the suspension of MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kholofelo Morodi, with questions raised about whether political instability and procurement delays have compromised critical municipal infrastructure.

DA councillor Dana Wannenburg warned that the metro is facing a growing crisis that could halt key administrative and financial systems if not urgently addressed.

According to Wannenburg, stalled procurement processes and the absence of appointed service providers since the end of January have left the city exposed to operational risk.

“There is a growing and deeply concerning crisis within the metro’s information and communication environment that demands urgent attention,” he said.

He added that critical tenders for infrastructure, internet services, and system maintenance remain unresolved, leaving the municipality without essential technical support.

Wannenburg cautioned that the network is already operating beyond its intended capacity because of insufficient maintenance and delayed upgrades.

This, he said, has resulted in slow performance, instability and an increase in system failures.

He further warned that if the situation deteriorates into a full blackout, municipal services – ranging from billing and prepaid systems to customer care platforms – could be affected simultaneously, bringing city operations to a standstill.

“These are the kinds of scenarios we typically only see in movies, yet under the current administration, residents of Tshwane are now facing this as a real and imminent threat,” Wannenburg said.

He criticised the governing coalition for failing to prioritise the matter and alleged that political interference in tender processes has compounded delays.

The DA has argued that without immediate intervention, the metro risks a total system failure with severe consequences for service delivery, revenue collection and emergency response co-ordination.

The warning comes at a time when the city is already facing mounting financial and governance pressures, amplifying concerns about its institutional resilience.

In response, the metro rejected claims that its ICT [Information and Communications Technology] environment is on the brink of collapse and insisted that the suspension of Morodi has had no operational impact.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the municipality’s network remains stable and that systems are designed with built-in redundancy to prevent a single point of failure.

“The city would like to reassure residents that there is no ICT crisis or risk of a metro-wide blackout. The city’s ICT environment is stable, supported, and designed with redundancy and resilience measures in place,” Mashigo said.

He acknowledged that three ICT tenders have experienced delays but maintained that internal teams and existing service arrangements continue to support critical infrastructure.

According to Mashigo, disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place and are regularly reviewed and tested to ensure readiness in the event of disruptions.

Mashigo also stressed that the metro cannot disclose detailed information about network architecture or the status of certain infrastructure links for security reasons, arguing that doing so could expose the municipality to cyber and operational risks.

He said that while some redundancy paths are currently unavailable, this has not affected current operations, and the city is actively monitoring the situation.

“There are currently no active outages affecting corporate connectivity to key sites, and all online systems and hosted services remain fully available,” he said.

He added that “procurement delays are largely the result of governance and compliance requirements rather than irregularities, and that expenditure on ICT maintenance and upgrades is proceeding within approved budgets”.

The metro further dismissed suggestions that Morodi’s suspension, which followed findings related to the Madlanga Commission, had disrupted oversight of ICT projects.

Mashigo said the ICT function operates within an administrative framework designed to ensure continuity regardless of political developments.

The conflicting narratives have placed the spotlight on the vulnerability of municipal digital infrastructure, which underpins everything from electricity billing and revenue management to emergency communications and data security.

In an era where most municipal services rely heavily on networked systems, any prolonged outage could have cascading effects across departments and public services.

Residents and businesses remain particularly sensitive to the risk of digital disruption after repeated service delivery failures in other parts of the country.

A metro-wide systems failure in Pretoria would not only halt administrative functions but could also delay payments to suppliers, disrupt online services and complicate the city’s ability to respond to emergencies.

Also read: Senior police officials in R360m tender case not being targeted – NPA

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