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Maverick Citizen, Nelson Mandela Bay

Just two streetlights fixed in 90 days in Nelson Mandela Bay’s Kariega

Just two streetlights fixed in 90 days in Nelson Mandela Bay’s Kariega
Estelle Ellis
By Estelle Ellis
11 Feb 2025
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The electricity department in Kariega, formerly Uitenhage, fixed only two of the 198 faulty streetlights reported during the final three months of 2024.

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s electricity depot in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) fixed only two of the 198 broken streetlights in the town between October and December 2024. In November, none of the 73 streetlights reported as out were fixed.

At the time, it was officially reported that close to 1,400 streetlights were out in only three of the metro’s 60 wards, but as DA councillor Ondela Kepe pointed out, the metro doesn’t report cumulative numbers of faults — so nobody knows how many street lights are out of order. 

The situation is not much better elsewhere in the metro, with Despatch fixing the most (31 of 85 faulty streetlights in October, five of 36 in November, and 54 of 63 in December).

The Motherwell depot fixed eight of 17 faulty streetlights in October, none of the 10 broken ones reported in November, and one of 14 streetlights reported as out in December.

The depots in the north of the city received 58 reports of faulty streetlights in October and fixed one. In November, only one of 83 reported broken streetlights were addressed. In December, only one of 47 broken lights reported was fixed. 

The south depot did just as badly: 113 lights were reported as faulty in October – three were fixed. In November, three of 108 reported faulty lights were fixed and in December, none of 82 lights reported as out of order were fixed. 

The west depot received 81 reports of faulty streetlights in October and fixed one. In November, it fixed five of 75 lights reported as broken and in December, one of 48 reported as faulty.

Vandalism, lack of resources


“The faults repaired are very low,” the report written and presented by the municipality’s electricity and energy acting executive director Tholi Biyela stated.

Three years ago, the depots each fixed 90 streetlights a month. Now, it takes them, on average, 16 days to fix one.

“Delays in repairs could also be linked to staff being on leave during the second quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year,” said Biyela, who blamed a lack of resources. 

“Streetlight vandalism is rife and hampers progress of service delivery. The operating budget is not sufficient to cater for the continuous vandalism of the network. 

“The recruitment of staff has been slow. However, it is still a work in progress. The lack of staff within Distribution and the end of contracts with regards to trainee students that were assisting distribution with contracts, amongst others, has left a void within Distribution,” the report continued. 

In the report, officials further admitted that no maintenance of high mast lights is being carried out as the tender had been retracted.

“[The tender] bounced to and fro between Supply Chain Management, Legal, the Bid Adjudication Committee, the city manager’s office and external lawyers. The advice was given that the contract must be cancelled. This was done.”

The report continued: “The 14-day tender process for all public lighting, including street lighting, has not materialised even though a tremendous amount of effort was put into this initiative. Electricity and Energy remains committed to re-explore this process. This will significantly assist.”

An explanation provided by Biyela says there are few working “cherry pickers” or “cherry picker trailers” left in the metro. The report then goes on to explain that they have no cherry pickers to do their job and cannot hire any.

“No funding has been granted for the purchasing of specialised vehicles and trailer cherry pickers.”

Emergency contracts previously given for the procurement of streetlight fittings and luminaires are under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit. 

Read more: Special Investigating Unit to probe streetlight tender in Nelson Mandela Bay

Understaffed and overworked


The DA’s Kepe called for urgent repairs to the streetlights in the metro, saying, on average, it took officials 16 days to attend to one light. 

“We note the municipality’s commitment to appoint contractors through a short-term 14-day tender and the drafting of specifications to address public lighting comprehensively. While this commitment is positive, it must be done transparently, above board, and in line with all finance rules. And if contractors are brought in, it must translate into meaningful, long-term improvements,” he said.

Kepe said it was his understanding that through proper maintenance, the Despatch depot still had the use of its four cherry pickers. This was why it could complete more work.

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said the municipal report showed the shocking reality of a department in crisis, dealing with a backlog of 1,393 unresolved faults two months ago and a snail’s-paced average repair time of 16.24 days.

“These figures illustrate the pressing need for a more efficient system.

“Additionally, challenges in staffing and resources have hindered progress, with key artisan roles understaffed. Of 24 artisan assistant positions, only 17 are filled; similarly, only six of 10 artisan electrical posts are occupied. These vacancies, combined with a fragmented contract system and limited fleet availability for repairs, underline the need for urgent action.

“We will monitor the municipality’s progress in dealing with this issue closely to ensure these commitments are realised and that funds and resources are effectively allocated to address the backlog,” said Grootboom.

Safety concerns


Kepe said well-lit streets would go a long way to ensure a safer city.

“You know, late night in this metro is not the same any more. When you get to your house, you never know who is hiding behind a bush,” he said. 

He said there was a specialised vehicle crisis in the metro.

“The north depot has no cherry pickers and they cover 29 wards,” he said. “The south depot only has two vehicles.”

Both these depots, Kepe explained, served a large area.

He said the department did not comply with supply chain management regulations and the correct measures and controls were not in place. 

“People’s houses are being broken into, nobody can walk at night, the streets are dangerous, accidents happen,” Kepe said.

“Residents just don’t feel safe anymore. The lack of streetlights is a real hindrance to quality of life in this city.”

He said artisans working at the department were fatigued.

“At one depot, there are only 15 artisans that must take care of 28 wards. They must be tired. Contracted services have been pulled and contracts have not been renewed.”

Kepe said the backlogs that built up when employees were on leave were frightening.

“By the time they get back from leave, the workload will be even more unmanageable.”

Kepe said he inspected streetlight fixtures that had been delivered to the depots in the metro recently and was shocked at the poor quality of the product.

“These [cost] R2-million, but a lot of them were unusable. We have to find a way to ensure quality assurance and consequence management. Officials and the company providing these substandard streetlights must be held to account. 

“Such things can be avoided if we have a service-level agreement in place that speaks about quality control and empowers officials at the depots to refuse to accept substandard stock,” he said. 

Kepe proposed that fixing streetlights in high-crime zones in Nelson Mandela Bay was prioritised. 

“I also have a plan for us to look at cost-sharing with businesses and residents. We must build a mechanism for this, especially in the inner-city areas. We can work out a deal based on rates. But this will require a high-level discussion,” he said. 

He said he had also proposed a contingency repair fund to ensure that depleted budgets did not stop repair work. DM

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