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Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Nelson Mandela Bay council to decide this week if electricity tariff will rise by 12%
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will vote on the metro's proposed budget, which includes a 12% increase in electricity tariffs — along with rises for other municipal services. The discussion, however, comes as the Electricity and Energy Directorate finds itself in dire financial and governance straits, with funding still not forthcoming for repairs to the high voltage supply line, which provides power to a large part of the city. The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has admitted in its own Integrated Development Plan that it is to present before council this week that electricity outages in the metro are at an all-time high. Yet the budget for the 2025/2026 financial year proposes that consumers pay 12% more for electricity. The plan notes that the Average System Interruption Frequency Index, which measures how often the average customer experiences outages, has reached record levels, primarily due to high-voltage events. These are caused by cable faults, theft and vandalism of fibre cables that trigger unnecessary feeder trips. The document also notes that outages last longer, with forced load reductions worsening reliability indicators. Meanwhile, the metro's Electricity and Energy Directorate is in a financial crisis, operating at a R1.2-billion loss as it struggles to curb illegal connections, vandalism and the collapse of grid infrastructure. One visible example of municipal inaction is the Grogro informal settlement, where illegal electricity connections stretch across Kragga Kamma Road to a substation. These makeshift cables frequently catch fire. In a letter shared with residents, ward councillor Margaret de Andrade wrote, 'My office has engaged in numerous meetings with the relevant departments on this matter, and we have received commitments on several fronts. However, to date, there has been no meaningful feedback or coordinated action. 'As one of your officials previously stated, 'I have forgotten about Grogro'. 'If this sentiment reflects the current level of attention, it is deeply concerning and unacceptable given the gravity of the situation. 'Unrest risk imminent' 'This is no longer just an operational issue — it is a volatile crisis. The community is growing increasingly frustrated due to the lack of visible intervention, and tensions are rising. The risk of unrest, fires and harm to both residents and municipal staff is imminent. 'I strongly urge all departments to urgently coordinate and communicate with one another. We need immediate alignment between Electricity and Energy, Safety and Security, Legal Services, Human Settlements and Disaster Management.' In addition, according to the metro's reports, about 22% of residential electricity meters have been tampered with. In the proposed budget, it is stated: 'As previously reported to Council, it is important to note that the financial position of the Electricity Service is under immense pressure due to the extent of electricity losses, which impact significantly on the financial sustainability of the municipality. This is supported by the fact that the budget for Electricity Bulk Purchases exceeds the total Electricity Service Charges budget. This means that the Electricity Service, which is a Trading Service, is operating at a substantial deficit, requiring support from property rates.' The 12% proposed tariff hike still needs approval by the National Energy Regulator, and if granted, will kick in on 1 July. However, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Denise van Huyssteen said they had not seen the metro's application to Nersa. This is the first year that Nersa will publish all applications on its website; the metro's application also doesn't appear there. Van Huyssteen pointed out that the manufacturing industry was the metro's largest electricity consumer (about 59%) and as a result, organised business in Nelson Mandela Bay would like to have more input on the electricity budget. Van Huyssteen warned that, at the current trajectory, there was a real risk that the municipality might default on its Eskom bulk electricity payments. She noted that if the increase remained capped at 12%, business was unlikely to oppose it. In 2022, the metro led litigation against Nersa, securing a ruling that the general guideline and benchmarking method the regulator had used to determine increases was unconstitutional. The metro argued that the municipality should be required to show Nersa how much it cost to distribute electricity bought from Eskom. Van Huyssteen said programmes such as the geyser control initiative should be reinstated, as it had collapsed. 'We want to add that the municipality needs the urgent support of Eskom to fix its infrastructure,' she said. An additional threat to the metro's electricity security is the temporary repairs to the high-voltage line that collapsed last year. In April, one of the pylons partially collapsed again, damaging the temporary fix. Ward councillors Sean Tappan and Dries van der Westhuyzen said earlier this month that there was now a temporary repair to the temporary repair.
Daily Maverick
18-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Pothole payback — A 21-month battle for compensation
Gqeberha resident Keith Murcott refused to back down after the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality dragged its heels in paying his R40,000 claim for a cycling accident caused by an enormous pothole. 'It can be done,' says Keith Murcott, well-known to many residents in Nelson Mandela Bay as the former manager of the iconic Feathermarket Hall. He's referring to his 21-month battle with the municipality to claim compensation after a serious cycling accident caused by a massive pothole. 'But you have to remember the municipality wants you to give up.' In October 2023, Murcott (72), an avid mountain biker, adventurer, world traveller and pickleball enthusiast, hit a pothole of about 1 metre deep and 1 metre wide on the bicycle riding path next to the William Moffat Expressway in Gqeberha. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads It had rained in the city a few days before, and unbeknown to him, the road was giving way around a manhole next to the bicycle lane. 'I was coming down William Moffat at a lekker speed, hey,' he said. 'So before I could break I was in the hole. 'And next thing I know I was on the ground and my bicycle was in a huge pothole,' he said. His helmet was cracked, and his hand was broken. He also suffered a concussion and multiple cuts and bruises. Despite his serious injuries and suffering from concussion, Murcott managed to get himself home. His doctor referred him to hospital, where he underwent surgery on his hand. Read more: SA pothole tales, as told by Daily Maverick readers Bureaucratic merry-go-round Once mobile again in November 2023, Murcott sought out his ward councillor, Dave Hayselden, who advised him to claim damages from the municipality. And so began what Murcott describes as a bureaucratic merry-go-round. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'First I got no interest. No response. Then I went to Legal Services. 'I do want to say the officials were friendly and helpful but they are overwhelmed. In the one guy's office the files were stacked to the roof,' he said. Between January and March 2024 Murcott sent '30, 40 and then 50 emails'. After no response, Murcott decided to pay officials of the Legal Directorate a visit in person in September 2024. He said he was surprised to find out that while his claims were being handled, his medical reports were apparently unacceptable. Murcott said he was told they needed to be 'medical-legal' reports. Murcott said nobody had passed on this information for months. 'I also found out that it took them six months [after the accident] to inspect the pothole,' he said. Eleven months after the accident, he received notification that his claim was being reviewed and approved. 'After I received this notification I thought maybe two or three weeks to get a payout? I was wrong.' 'In January 2025 I had to start the whole email campaign again,' he said. 'But then the real fun began,' he said, adding that he was on a first-name basis with many of those working at City Hall by the time he received his money. Waiting for his money to be paid out, he found himself suddenly being sent around to several directorates for answers, which were not forthcoming. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads He ended up talking to three different chief operating officers and three acting city managers – because incumbents change often in these offices. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'Although I never got to see a city manager, I sent a lot of emails,' he said. 'My emails were read and instructions were issued to several directorates, but nothing happened,' he said. Murcott claimed that after months had passed while he tried to find answers, an official told him the municipality couldn't pay the R10,000 excess its insurance required. Then he was told that the person who had to sign his settlement was hijacked and couldn't work. This triggered another flurry of emails and visits. Finally, in April 2025 — 21 months after his accident — the money was paid out. 'We are not talking about a fortune here. It is R40,000,' he said. 'All I can say to people in a similar situation is push on; they want you to give up. […] They need your money!' he said. 'They won't come to see you. You must go see them.' 'You know what makes me angry,' he said, 'is that I didn't ask for a lot of money. I just wanted my medical expenses covered. I could have asked for a new bicycle but I didn't. And yet it took so long for them to pay me.' The municipality's communications director, Sithembiso Soyaya, has not yet responded to a request for comment. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Murcott said that to the credit of the municipality the dangerous pothole was filled within a week. 'All I can say now is that you will be rewarded for your perseverance.' Pothole numbers Nelson Mandela Bay, in its own Integrated Development Report, admitted that, according to the software it uses, residents and road users had reported an astonishing 1,616 potholes per 10km of road. As this could include duplications, the true number of potholes is not known. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Read more: Potholes in South Africa grow from 15 million to 25 million in just five years, SA roads federation reveals The municipality's goal is to reduce the number to 1,500, but no monthly repair data is available, as the IDP notes the figures must be 'audited.' In a recent report, the municipality describes enormous backlogs in fixing potholes and damaged sidewalks and resurfacing roads. Potholes ranked as the third-most complained-about issue in the city during recent meetings, after housing and streetlights. The report continues: 'The municipality has a backlog of 630km unsurfaced roads. The cost to eliminate this backlog is approximately R7 billion. 'This backlog has occurred largely because the housing development programme, funded by the provincial government, only includes sufficient funding for gravel roads. In addition, there is a backlog of 160km sidewalks (non-motorised transport) with an estimated cost of R400-million. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'Furthermore, the municipality continues to face the challenge of inadequate road maintenance resulting in potholes on municipal roads. 'The poor road conditions can also be attributed to the impact of climate change resulting from flooding as well as illegal use of roads by heavy goods vehicles,' according to the IDP report. Frustrated by inaction, residents, NGOs, and political groups have started filling potholes themselves to make the roads safer. Meanwhile, civil society continues to take the manganese industry to task over road damage caused by overloaded trucks. DM
