Latest news with #R720
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Climate
- The Citizen
Tshwane mayor blames rain for municipality not fixing potholes
Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the municipality has no excuse for delays in filling potholes because it produces its own asphalt. Tshwane Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya said rainy weather is the reason the municipality could not attend to its pothole crisis. She announced a comprehensive road resurfacing initiative targeting the city's notorious pothole problem. Speaking during the city's progress briefing at Tshwane House in Pretoria West on Thursday, Moya outlined efforts taking place in four regions – Soshanguve, Mabopane, Hammanskraal and Olievenhoutbosch. 'Every day our teams are on site dealing with the issue of potholes. And remember, as the city, we produce our own hot asphalt. So we don't have an excuse not to attend to the potholes,' Moya said. 'No excuses' for Tshwane's potholes Despite this, the mayor said the city was unable to fix potholes because of the bad weather. 'We always say to residents, the reason we couldn't catch up [to fixing potholes] was [because of] the rains. The rains have subsided, we can now go back to [repairing] the roads.' Moya said the municipality has no excuse for delays given its capacity to produce hot asphalt in-house. However, Moya claimed that despite the unfavourable weather, municipal teams have made progress in their infrastructure repair efforts since the beginning of the year. She said maintenance crews have repaired 3 698 potholes across the metropolitan area. According to the mayor, 5 711 streetlights have been fixed and 231 high-mast lights were repaired. Additionally, workers have addressed sanitation infrastructure by unblocking 4 144 sewer blockages. ALSO READ: Millions needed to fix Tshwane sinkholes Massive funding gap threatens long-term solutions The Centurion region is a particular area of concern, facing unique geological challenges that compound typical road maintenance issues. The Citizen previously reported that DA ward 65 councillor Gert Visser noted that Centurion experiences the highest concentration of sinkholes due to its location in a dolomitic area, with new formations occurring regularly. Visser explained that exceptional weather conditions have exacerbated the problem this year. The councillor criticised delays in repair work, stating that 'these potholes could have been repaired in a shorter time period, but that did not happen as hot asphalt and bitumen were not in supply due to operational and procurement issues, which are unacceptable'. Visser outlined the stark financial reality facing the city, revealing that major sinkholes in key locations remain unaddressed due to budget limitations. 'To rehabilitate all the sinkholes, in the City of Tshwane, being 60 to 70, will cost at least R720 million while the current budget is R14 million,' Visser explained. ALSO READ: Tshwane mayor under fire for downplaying pothole crisis
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Climate
- The Citizen
Millions needed to fix Tshwane sinkholes
Dolomitic soil and record rainfall have left Centurion with recurring sinkholes, while city-wide potholes remain unrepaired due to asphalt shortages and lack of funds. It will cost the City of Tshwane millions of rands that it doesn't have to fix roads across the city riddled with potholes and sinkholes that form overnight and are often left months or years unrepaired, says a city councillor. DA ward 65 councillor Gert Visser said not only did Centurion have the most sinkholes, but new ones were forming every other month due to it being a dolomitic area. Centurion potholes Visser said since January Irene, within the Centurion region, had experienced the highest rainfall in 22 years. The rain resulted in more potholes. 'Residents' reports were escalated and recently roads were repaired in Rooihuiskraal, Louwlardia, Highveld and Irene. 'These potholes could have been repaired in a shorter time period, but that did not happen as hot asphalt and bitumen were not in supply due to operational and procurement issues, which are unacceptable,' he said. ALSO READ: WATCH: In lockdown with no water or electricity … thanks to a sinkhole At least R720 million needed Visser said the most prominent sinkholes in Alexandria Road, Irene and John Vorster Avenue, Highveld would not be rehabilitated soon due to budget constraints. 'To rehabilitate all the sinkholes, in the City of Tshwane, being 60 to 70, will cost at least R720 million while the current budget is R14 million,' he said. 'The solution is public-private partnerships in the interim while parliament considers policy and a new legislation,' he said. Repairs needed in Hammanskraal Meanwhile, Apies Rivier Noord Gemeenskap Forum chair Johan Loots has also written to the City of Tshwane seeking help with the conditions of the roads in the Hammanskraal area. Loots said among the problematic roads were Apies River Road, Coin Road, Tambotie Road and Juliet Street, and repairing them would help boost service delivery. NOW READ: Tshwane under pressure as residents complain about water outages, power and potholes
Eyewitness News
14-05-2025
- Health
- Eyewitness News
Lesufi apologises to cancer patients for delays in treatment at Gauteng hospitals
JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has apologised to cancer patients for the delays in treatment at the province's public hospitals. Earlier this year, the Gauteng High Court ordered the provincial Department of Health to provide oncology radiation services to about 3,000 patients who have been on a waiting list for about three years. The Gauteng government has since been granted leave to appeal the judgment, which it says would jeopardise the standard of oncology care at its hospitals if implemented. At the Gauteng legislature sitting on Tuesday, Lesufi acknowledged this situation could have been handled better by the government. READ: Gauteng DOH welcomes court granting it leave to appeal judgment on provision of radiation services "I want to take this opportunity this opportunity to apologise to all cancer patients, it was not our wish to put them through these difficulties. Unfortunately, when you have court cases and a backlog, it is very, very difficult for the department to balance the two, but this is not an excuse. I have received a detailed report on how this backlog will be eliminated, and I remain convinced this backlog will be eliminated and once more, my heartfelt apologies to the cancer patients in our province." Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson on health, Jack Bloom, said Lesufi's apology has unfortunately come too late for some of the cancer patients. "It's far too late for hundreds of cancer patients who have died because they didn't get radiation treatment within the required 90 days. So if they don't get it within this specific required period, they are going to suffer and die, and their lives could have been saved, and really, in my view, this is as bad as the Life Esidimeni disaster." On Monday, Gauteng Treasury revealed the provincial health department underspent its budget this financial year 2024/25 by more than R720 million, something Bloom says is unacceptable.
The Citizen
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Sputla's flagship municipal power project falters
Dr Beyers Naudé municipality's Eskom arrears are mounting. Sources close to the municipality say electricity revenue is being used to cover salaries and other costs instead of settling the Eskom account. Picture: iStock A year after being hailed a huge success and perhaps a blueprint for solving South Africa's municipal debt crisis, the flagship electricity project in the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape appears to be floundering – casting fresh doubt over Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's proposed national rollout. In December, residents were promised 40% cheaper electricity from 1 July 2025, with tariff increases capped at CPI plus 1%. The project, spearheaded by Stellenbosch-based Utility Consulting Solutions (UCS), was also expected to enable the municipality to pay off its Eskom debt and stay current with monthly payments. Deputy Minister of Electricity Samantha Graham-Maré praised the initiative as a resounding success. Yet Eskom's payment records tell a different story. According to data obtained from Eskom, Dr Beyers Naudé municipality made only one bulk electricity payment between March and November last year – R11 million in July 2024. Arrear debt continued to balloon and stood at R720 million at the end of March 2025, according to the municipality's own financial reports published on its website as well as sources close to the matter. This directly contradicts claims by Graham-Maré that the municipality is keeping up with its current Eskom payments and that the programme is achieving all its goals. ALSO READ: Exclusive: Sputla's grand plan to resolve municipal debt to Eskom Partial write-off of arrears in jeopardy National Treasury has now warned the municipality that it is in breach of the conditions of the Eskom Debt Relief Programme, which allows for partial write-offs of municipal arrears if strict conditions are met – including full and punctual payment of current accounts. Close to R400 million of Dr Beyers Naudé's debt could be written off over three years, but only if compliance is maintained. Sources close to the municipality told Moneyweb that electricity revenue is being used to cover other costs, particularly salaries, instead of settling the Eskom bill and the electricity business is run at a loss. ALSO READ: Eskom owed R81.6 billion by municipalities: Who owes the most? The plan UCS CEO Christo Nicholls previously told Moneyweb the project has two key components: Sourcing cheaper electricity from private rooftop solar producers (prosumers); and Using batteries to store cheap off-peak Eskom power for resale during peak hours at higher tariffs. The idea is that solar-generated electricity, bought at R1.00-1.25/kWh, is cheaper than Eskom's R2.10/kWh bulk rate. Batteries would allow the municipality to buy Eskom power during off-peak hours at 77c/kWh, store it, and sell it at peak prices of up to R3/kWh. This would dramatically increase the gross profit per kilowatt hour, Nicholls said. He claimed in January that 19% of Dr Beyers Naudé municipality's electricity was sourced from prosumers over the past year, with a target of 45% by June and 78% by December 2025. The first 30MWh of battery storage is expected to come online in May, with another 55MWh by end-July. Nicholls insisted the solar component had already been tested with 26 prosumers, and that Eskom payments resumed in December starting with R1 million. He said payments would increase as the project scales up and more savings materialise. ALSO READ: Proposed Eskom tariff increase could sink municipalities – report Plan 'flawed' However, tariff specialist Hendrik Barnard, who advises municipalities on energy procurement, says the available information on the project 'doesn't add up'. He describes the assumptions as unrealistic and riddled with technical and financial flaws. He points to two key issues: Widespread adoption of rooftop solar will erode municipal revenue as consumers will be generating their own electricity; and The cost of battery storage is still too high to make the buy-store-sell model viable at scale for municipalities. While UCS claims the infrastructure – batteries, solar panels, smart meters – will be funded by private investors at no cost to the municipality, Nicholls has refused to disclose who these investors are. When pressed for transparency, given the public interest, he deflected, saying the municipality would have to release the information. Nicholls's company stands to earn 12% of all new gross profit generated through the project. With ambitions to roll out similar initiatives in up to 100 municipalities, the potential financial upside for UCS is significant. ALSO READ: Cash-strapped Emfuleni Municipality gets relief from Eskom Silence Municipal officials have remained silent, failing to respond to questions or provide clarity on the project's status. Ramokgopa has repeatedly promised to unveil a broader strategy to tackle municipal debt. So far, no new details have emerged. His office previously confirmed to Moneyweb that a wider rollout is expected to begin this month, based on the pilot results. But if Dr Beyers Naudé municipality – the supposed flagship – is already falling short, it raises serious concerns about the viability of the model elsewhere. Moneyweb has established that Nama Khoi Local Municipality in the Northern Cape has paused its participation pending an independent review of UCS's algorithms, which it said the company declined to allow. Nicholls said it was due to infrastructure issues. Kamiesberg and Richtersveld municipalities, also in the Northern Cape, have barely begun implementation, he said. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
