Metro dismisses allegations of no progress at substation despite R8m spent

The Tshwane metro has dismissed allegations of corruption and maladministration around the R8-million upgrade of a local substation.

Rekord has received claims that, despite the hefty sum spent, there had been few visible upgrades made to the Kentron substation.

The allegations include that no material was on-site and that the project manager had yet to appoint any workers.

However, metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo dismissed the allegations.

He said there was a reasonable explanation to justify the amount spent.

“The contractor had placed orders for the long-lead electrical equipment with various suppliers,” Mashigo said.

“Consequently, a lot of off-site work involving the manufacture of equipment at the factories is currently underway.”

The metro was also conducting factory acceptance tests on the material, some of which had been cleared for delivery to the site.

On the question of why there was no activity on site, Mashigo said the substation building had been negatively impacted by prolonged engagement with local so-called “business forums”.

“The engagement between the business forums and the metro on the sub-contracting opportunities and late payment of the contractor’s invoices for the electrical equipment have stalled the progress.”

Mashigo said the metro had recently appointed a community liaison officer who will be in charge of appointing Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWPS) workers.

“The contractor has initiated the process to recruit and appoint EPWP workers to assist with the construction of the substation building.”

At least 10 community members will be appointed as part of the project.

The Kentron upgrade is expected to drastically improve the power supply to the Swartkop, Eco Park, Highveld, and Southdowns areas.

The substation has been plagued by fires, cable theft, reoccurring power trips, and even lightning leading to power outages affecting various parts of Centurion.

The project was first commissioned in October 2022 and is due to be completed in April 2025.

ALSO READ: Bus strike leaves Pretoria commuters stranded

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram