The DA has noted with concern the horrendous state of a mini-substation at the corner of Lombard and Lehman Street in Secunda.
It has been reported several months ago for standing open and for being a dangerous safety risk for residents, passers-by and children.
Mr Bheki Kubheka, Govan Mbeki Municipal spokesman, said: “The mini-substation had a cable fault that led to the substation exploding.
“A service provider was appointed to service the mini-substation and the coil was taken out for servicing and revamping and it will be fitted as soon as possible.”
Ms Ciska Botha, Ward 25 councillor and DA chief whip, said: “This safety risk has become even more unfavourable, since a temporary mini-sub has been allocated to compensate for the dysfunctional original substation.
“It has been reported and submitted with photo evidence on numerous occasions in the form of ward committee reports to the Speaker’s office by the Ward 25 committee.
“The temporary mini-sub is completely exposed and is surrounded by dilapidated orange danger fabric, which is also deteriorating with time due to a lack of grass maintenance around the substation.”
Upon investigation, the DA ward councillor and chief whip of the municipality found it appeared a coil in the original mini-substation broke and was sent to Johannesburg for a quotation for its repairs several months ago.
Allegedly, the purpose for this long awaited quotation is to check whether it is less expensive to repair the coil or to buy a new one to fix the problem.
“In the meantime, nothing has been done to expedite the process of repairing the original mini-substation or to improve the safety conditions pertaining to the problem.
“The detrimental state of finances and lack of proper management in the ANC-led Govan Mbeki Municipality is having a clear and visible impact on the well-being of the area.
“The DA has also found that the maintenance budget is currently 4.4 per cent below the required 8 per cent.
“The risks of having dilapidated electrical infrastructure exposed to the community, are too great to ignore as we have seen in previous incidences in the municipality where children were injured or lost their lives,” said Ms Botha.
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