DA demands accountability and action for Parys power failures

By Marié la Cock | DA Councillor Ngwathe Municipality

Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Marié la Cock and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ngwathe Local Municipality will take immediate steps to ensure accountability by demanding urgent answers from the municipality regarding the persistent electrical failures in Parys.

We will continue to push for transparency and effective service delivery to prevent further disruptions.

The ongoing power outages have left residents frustrated and inconvenienced due to the municipality’s failure to act decisively.

Despite being aware of the faulty breaker weeks ago, municipal officials took no effective steps to address the root cause, resulting in another avoidable blackout.

This level of negligence is unacceptable. The municipality was fully aware of the issue but failed to act promptly, displaying a clear lack of accountability and disregard for service delivery. Residents deserve reliable infrastructure and competent management of municipal resources, yet they are continuously subjected to poor planning and inefficiency.

Following an urgent inquiry, the municipal manager, Dr. Futhuli, confirmed that the municipality is in the process of procuring new breakers and an auto-closer. A meeting was scheduled for 8 AM on 22 January 2025 to discuss progress, but the details of the meeting never came to light.

This raises serious questions:

1. Why was the faulty breaker not replaced when the issue was first identified?
2. What immediate measures are being taken to prevent further failures while procurement is underway?
3. Who will be held accountable for the repeated disruptions and lack of foresight?

The DA demands that the municipality provide clear timelines for resolving the issue and implement immediate contingency plans to prevent further inconvenience to residents.

We will continue to hold officials accountable to ensure that service delivery is prioritised and that residents receive the quality services they deserve.