By Staff Reporter
In a stark warning issued Wednesday, Cilliers Brink, leader of the DA Tshwane Caucus, lambasted what he called the ANC-EFF-ActionSA coalition led by executive mayor Nasiphi Moya for plunging the city into a spiral of prolonged power outages.
Brink attributed the worsening situation to recent budget cuts that have severely hampered the city’s electricity network stability.
Brink pointed out that the Brakfontein substation explosion and a staggering 132KV increase in trips during the first months of 2025 have exacerbated the crisis.
These trips, according to Brink, trigger secondary outages across the city.
“When Tshwane’s budget was revised in February, we raised serious concerns about the decision to slash funding for the Regional Operations and Coordination (ROC) department,” Brink said.
“Instead of bolstering essential services like electricity repairs and maintenance, the coalition opted for a 64% increase in water tankers and a 103% rise in security expenditure.”
The ROC department, responsible for vital tasks such as electricity and water infrastructure maintenance, has seen overtime caps and freezes on frontline jobs further compounding delays in outage responses.
Brink also criticised Moya’s redirection of funds away from critical infrastructure upgrades, citing the defunding of the R5 million Kwagga infeed station upgrade and the neglect of the Nyala infeed line stabilization, essential components of Tshwane’s electricity backbone.
“The consequences of these choices are now painfully evident,” Brink lamented.
“Response times to power outages are at an all-time low, leaving homes, businesses, and educational institutions without power for days.”
In a scathing critique of the mayor’s priorities, Brink accused Moya of neglecting the escalating crisis in favor of publicity stunts targeting businesses for regulatory violations.
“While municipal duties such as licence enforcement are important, they pale in comparison to the urgent electricity crisis gripping our city,” Brink said.
“It’s futile to prioritize social media optics while large swathes of Tshwane remain in darkness.”
Brink vowed to hold Moya accountable, asserting that DA councillors will continue to advocate for residents and demand transparency amidst the escalating crisis.
“We refuse to let Tshwane descend into the shadows cast by Johannesburg’s leadership,” Brink said.
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