- Portfolio Committee to consider the petition on poor supply
- Petition submitted by Agri Letaba organization
- The petition seeks the investigation of severe electricity shortages, among others
The South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is set to consider the petition filed by Agri Letaba, an organisation representing the farming community in Tzaneen, to the National Assembly. The petition seeks to investigate the persistent electricity shortages, low voltage and poor maintenance of electricity infrastructure in the Tzaneen community since 2016. The petitioner also alleges a failure of the Tzaneen Local Municipality in addressing the lingering issue.
Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Faith Muthambi, urged parties to the petition to engage one another before escalating the matter to the National Assembly. “It seems that the communication issue with the municipality remains a problem, despite our previous plea to the municipality”, said Ms Muthambi.
The petitioners argued that despite several engagements with strategic community forums, the Municipal Authority has failed to address the issues raised by the stakeholders. However, the Municipality has stated that it had presented its plans to revive the electrical infrastructure in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality and its plans of future partnership with Eskom.