The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane is deeply concerned by the misleading claims made by Executive Mayor, Cllr Nasiphi Moya (of the ANC-led Coalition) regarding the state of public streetlighting in our city.
In a recent press statement, the Executive Mayor claimed that 91,581 streetlights have been fixed across Tshwane, including claims that 18,070 lights are operational in Region 4.
These figures, presented as evidence of progress, simply do not align with the reality on the ground.
Residents across Tshwane, know all too well that our streets remain shrouded in darkness. The City is experiencing unprecedented levels of darkness, undermining the safety and quality of life for our communities. This is not the service delivery Tshwane residents deserve.
The Mayor’s figures raise serious questions about the accuracy and reliability of the data being presented. At the end of July the mayor reported that only 20,000 streetlights were operational across the city. The sudden leap to 91,581 in just six weeks defies belief and suggests a troubling lack of transparency.
The DA calls on the city of Tshwane to follow through on the solutions put in place during Cilliers Brink tenure as Mayor, which include:
- Replacing streetlights with Solar solutions to overcome the challenges of vandalism; and
- Have dedicated internal streetlights teams, to move away from contractors that benefit from vandalised streetlights as this results in more opportunity to fix and invoice.