Joburg's power woes

BLAME: DA SAYS ANC FAILS TO MAINTAIN ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

- Jabulile Mbatha

Utility turns down Outa's offer to help fight vandalism.

Nico de Jager, DA's Gauteng spokesperson for cooperative and Affairs governance traditional (Cogta) has blamed the city's administration for Johannesburg's electricity woes.

This follows Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa) Wayne Duvenage making damning allegations about City Power's refusal to accept help from Outa, which could have assisted in their fight against vandalism and theft to their infrastructure.

Duvenage said: "We've reached out to City Power to help them with vandalism of their substations. They don't even want that assistance, they're not engaging enough with their citizens, with their community."

He said City Power did not respond to the proposal made to them last year.

Duvenage said part of the proposal included "an application that we will get residents to download in the areas. We'll get cameras around the residents and around the substations. We will get armed response that is linked to the residents in the area to get to the venue quickly in case there is theft taking place, [we] will be the eyes and ears".