Sunday World reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane says the city’s overtime policy has cost the municipality R130-million in lost electricity revenue in a single month while leaving residents in the dark.

According to Jacqui Uys, the DA Tshwane finance spokesperson, the overtime policy blocks officials from responding to electrical faults after hours and has led to worsened ongoing power outages. Uys claimed that poor workmanship and political decisions were the cause of what she referred to as a crisis. “Adding insult to the injury, the ANC coalition made a policy decision to not allow officials to work on emergency power outages after hours. The administration tries to defend this decision by stating cost control as a reason. However, a report served in the city’s finance committee clearly shows that R130-million in electricity revenue was lost in April alone, with the main reason for this loss being cited as power outages,” Uys pointed out. In her view, the policy move, despite being perceived as a cost-saving measure, was having unintended consequences. The situation, she said, worsened over the past weekend when planned maintenance affecting most of the east of Pretoria failed to meet expectations. The DA agrees that regular work should take place during office hours, but advocates for flexible emergency responses.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Boitumelo Kgobotlo at Sunday World
• Lees ook, Oortyd kos stad R130 miljoen: Tshwane-inwoners steeds in donker, by Maroela Media

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