Powerless in the city — How Johannesburg's electricity crisis is breaking its people
When our months-long data investigation showed that there were almost 100,000 reported outages in nine months and more than 5,000 serious breakdowns in three months, we set out to find out what that means by going to the worst-affected areas.
Johannesburg residents describe life on the brink — where power outages stretch for days, crime surges in the dark, and survival means diesel, firewood, or luck. From cold coffee machines to spoiled meat, from uncharged oxygen tanks to looted infrastructure, Joburgers tell Daily Maverick what it's like to live without power. They've stopped freezing food. They sleep in pyjamas outside waiting for technicians. They walk to substations themselves. In this Johannesburg, being powerless is often literal. City Power's infrastructure is collapsing. Residents are paying — with cash, lost income, and their safety. These testimonies capture a city dimming by the day. Where power was once plentiful, now electricity is a luxury for many.
Alex
We started in Alex, where the power cuts affect the hustle and drive of this historic city in a city. Residents reported that things were getting worse, not better — although City Power keeps reporting improvements in its quarterly reports. The Alex local economy is vibrant but business owners told us that the outages either shut them down or cost a lot in additional investments in inverters, generators and diesel.
We first met Ntuthuko Zulu *, a Selborne Street resident in Alex. She chose her own nom de plume and, like many people we spoke to, did not want to use her real name.
'I'm a resident. Born and raised in Alexandra. At first it was not much of a big deal because we knew probably after two days we're gonna have electricity, but now it's a lot. It's more than after two days, it'll be probably a week or a month we don't have electricity.
'My mother calls every day, in the morning especially. So, when she couldn't get a hold of us, me and my brother, it was a big problem because she was asking herself what's going on?
'We are not buying anything that would need to be in the freezer as much as we used to — now we buy food on a daily basis, which is expensive. Living day to day is expensive. We once had an outage in February (2025), I think for two or three weeks if I'm not mistaken. And a couple of blocks away from where I stay, some people managed to steal electricity power cables. And they managed to catch them, so that they can put the cables back so we won't get affected. Then after the cables were stolen, they fixed it a week later.
'Also, the main reason we are having this kind of problem is we, yoh, I can't pronounce this in English; but we extract from the box which is a dangerous thing. And extracting extra power also overpowers the box and then it explodes and it also malfunctions on the City Power (side). (City Power reports that illegal connections are a major cause of outages.)
'We are also building extra houses behind our current house. Most of the time we blame the City Power people and we don't blame the residents. When you walk you can actually hear that there is an electricity buzzing sound — you can hear that something is wrong. When you say something bad might happen, people are taking it a bit lightly. I think when City Power hears that we need them to come out as soon as possible, they need to come out immediately. And when they are here, we stand outside into the night with our pyjamas on waiting for them to finish fixing it. (City Power teams are overwhelmed by calls and its overtime bill is high.)
Nathi Dankuru
'As a resident of Alexandra, when they introduced this load reduction, normally we knew that the electricity would go out for two hours and come back. (Load reduction is a punitive electricity provision reduction in areas where payments are low or illegal connections are high.) But over December (2024), January and February (2025) we would go for days without electricity.
'And it's frustrating, because we don't know when there will be an outage. People are (often) not in their houses; they've gone to work, and sometimes it comes back and burns things, TVs and appliances, in the house. (This is probably due to surges when power is restored.)
'No one knows when to leave their house and switch off and unplug everything. When they stop power, even the (phone) networks, they're not working properly, and then we've got stress because we can't communicate properly. I lose money when the electricity goes off for three to four days. We buy groceries and food but if it (the electricity) goes off for three to four days, we have to cook the meat quickly. And you can't eat (it all). So, things get spoiled. And some of us only get this R370 (Social Relief of Distress grant) and then it's difficult.
'At 6pm it gets dark and unsafe — criminals target workers returning home. (Although community patrols do help.) Last time we had a meeting with City Power who promised us extra poles (for additional distribution). We need this because of people who have outside rooms. They have added connections, sometimes illegal connections. With more backyard rooms and illegal connections, the system can't cope. (Backyard dwelling or building extra rooms is a common way of making an income across Gauteng. Savvy city planners should reward this entrepreneurialism with infrastructure planning.)'
Tsutsumani resident and small business owner Malusi asked us not to use his surname.
'From February into March (2025) we were off for almost a month; it was tough. We had to make a plan. I must pay rent where I stay, and I must pay rent here (at his business). Our inverter lasts about three hours. After that, the cigars that need to be in a constant chilled environment start to dry out. That's when I bought a battery (for his hair-cutting machines) and a small inverter which keeps electric going, so I'm connecting that for two or three hours so that I can get three or five people to come to the barber.
'You must buy every day and cook fresh every day. It's tough.'
'You can't send WhatsApps, make calls or keep food — everything goes off. You must throw it out. You must buy every day and cook fresh every day. It's tough.'
Clement, who has run his Siga Da Mexikasi Style restaurant since 2019 on the East Bank, did not give us his surname, like the other business owners we met.
'We are a restaurant without any generator or alternative power supply. Over December (2024) January and February (2025) it was bad, as we cannot cook without electricity.
'It affected us, especially when we had to buy stock, because we couldn't store anything as we don't have cold storage without electricity. With these unplanned outages it's really affecting us. We were not able to serve customers. Of course, there was huge demand during those outages, but we couldn't meet the demand without power, obviously!
'Recently we were out for 16 hours — City Power's response is worse in the rain. City Power should assist us by providing alternative power sources, solar lights when it comes to our lighting, and a generator for us to use for cooking. (City Power is said to be R26-billion in the red, so it can't meet his wishes.)'
Claremont and surrounds
The near-western area of Claremont is a regular on the Daily Maverick's Johannesburg reporting horizon. The community knows us, through the activist Keith Bingle, and tell us when things go wrong, which is often.
We start by meeting Moegamat Jones, who started the Jones Urban Farm, a community garden. Typical of the legion of Johannesburg community leaders who keep the city functioning, Jones turned adversity to hope. His property is near a dump site that attracted both crime and a squatter community. Working with them, he cleared the two-hectare site that today is a community garden (or urban farm), nature reserve and open space for people who traditionally don't have these communal assets.
Jones' dream is to make this an educational eco-village and he teaches people to plant and harvest organics — or to grow their own food. Claremont skirts ganglands and he gives young people other options, including how to develop a local circular economy, turning waste to cash (he gets his teams to make and sell manure). Jones was an able interlocutor on what power cuts mean in poor areas.
'In the by-election (campaign, earlier in 2025) things improved a bit. (Claremont had a hotly contested by-election when we visited earlier in 2025.) The (local) factories are affected by outages, it stops the whole production; on our side it stops us from watering because we are using a pump, and it makes it difficult.
'It takes long for them (City Power) to restore power. One has to escalate and escalate. (City Power takes hours to answer phones and while it's online logging system works, if often closes job cards before a problem is solved.) Most of the residents around here (Claremont) are not paying (for electricity) and we are suffering because we have to pay exorbitant prices and a lot of us are defaulting now, including myself. (Electricity tariffs are so high in Johannesburg that City Power revenues are under severe strain, leading to high indebtedness and declining service levels. It's in a utility trap.)
'How am I supposed to pay about R3,500 a month? In my house, we always switch the lights off in the rooms that we are not in, the geyser is also switched off but the bill is still so high. The billing system is also not right. (Even with mass power cuts, most residents say bills never come down.) They don't consider this is a low-income community — the bills are too high.
'They are not dealing with the root problem'
'We had a major outage a few days ago and the whole area was affected, a substation went down. But I think somewhere along the line it's the same thing, it's the same fault, they're not dealing with the root problem. They must plan properly. If cables are stolen here, it will take a very long time for the police to come out, so what we've done now is rely on private security who act quicker. This morning people were caught trying to steal cables there, caught by private security. It's unfair for us, the ratepayers, a lot of people are not paying, and I know it's affecting service delivery. They are doing estimations of usage, which is why the amount isn't coming down. They refused my request for a prepaid meter. They said I was behind with my payments. (Cable thieves often operate with full impunity and in front of residents who can't do anything.)
'I'm not saying there isn't poverty, there is poverty around here, but if you look at all the flats everyone has dishes, with premium DSTV — most of them anyway. And how much is that? R1,000. (A DSTV premium subscription is R979 a month, and more than two million people in the past financial year have cut the cord, although they still have a dish.)
'Also, if you look at the infrastructure, it's bad. There is an electricity box down my road, they stole the fence a year or two ago, they steal the circuit breakers. That's due to poor maintenance — the grass isn't cut, and the fence hasn't been replaced. The grass is so high that no one can see the thieves, so we have started cutting the grass there now for them (the council. The City council does not do basic grass cutting or verge and kerb cleaning any longer, so Johannesburg is quite a jungle.) One other electricity issue is that the street lights are on all day, and I think it's an unnecessary usage when the sun is out.' (Many residents told Daily Maverick about street lights that are on during the day and off at night.)
Ridwaan Hope lives at Claremont Village, a City-run retirement village we have reported on before.
'We have a problem with the meter system. Everyone around the Claremont Retirement Village does not buy electricity, but for the elderly, they always come to check meters. All the other connections in the area are jippoed. I requested from the councillors to reconnect the cables directly to the retirement village without using a prepaid meter, because it's an exploitation of the elderly. We're not supposed to be paying for services, because we're here to settle down.
'We're not supposed to worry about electricity running out, that red light flashing (when prepaid electricity runs out); they must just connect it straight and let us pay a flat rate — maybe R200 to R300 a month. (We have previously reported how people are choosing between food and energy in this area.)
'There are people who are on oxygen, and if they don't have a battery backup there is a problem. Not everybody's solar-powered geysers are working here (the City has a solar geyser programme that Claremont Village has benefited from, but these are not well maintained.) In the village, mine isn't working. Nobody services it. Councillors say City Power used to service it, but not anymore. And not everybody here has gas stoves to cook.
'Also, my fridge is broken, I had someone come out, and the motor has packed up as a result of the power outages. It's a problem that financially I can't afford, but that guy also needs to be paid.'
Jacoba Guild is a resident of Claremont Village.
'We pay R360 a month to stay here in the retirement village, and our prepaid (electricity) costs R600. This year with the power outages, you can't really bake something, and you can't really cook. I have a gas stove, but if you want to cook it's really a battle.
'When the fridge is off for a couple of hours, then the water runs out, then I have to clean the floor, and I just cleaned the floor the day before.
'There is just this one tuckshop that we can buy bread here if we can't cook, but the lady at number 3 and the lady at number 8 was robbed just outside the gate of the village on their way to the shop! (With outages people have to shop more regularly instead of being able to freeze or store food in a fridge.)
'I've been here at the retirement village for nine years in September, and my husband fixed the geyser when we moved in here, so we have a working solar powered geyser. This place is freezing because the roof is flat, and the ceiling is against the roof with no insulation, so it's very cold when there is no power.'
Johnny runs Nonos Bakery Claremont, a local institution of deliciousness that has been in the area for decades.
'If it wasn't for this generator, this business wouldn't be sustainable.'
'If it wasn't for this generator, this business wouldn't be sustainable; I would have closed down ages ago if I didn't take steps to counter the power outages. I put in a 240KVA 3-Phase generator. It uses 30 litres of diesel per day. And if I had to run it all day, it would cost R4,000 a month in diesel, which should give you an idea how much an outage takes away from the bakery's bottom line. Solar power isn't feasible because it peaks at midday, which doesn't align with our busy times, which are 7am to 9am and then 4pm to 7pm.
'People know Nonos stays open from 8am to 7pm, outage or not.'
Vlakfontein is in Johannesburg's region G, the hard south of Johannesburg where the city turns gritty. It lies on both sides of the Golden Highway. Further on is Lenasia and Lenasia South.
Moosa works at Tau Buy & Braai in Vlakfontein Extension 1.
'The unplanned power outages affect us a lot. We sell meat, and sometimes the meat becomes damaged because it (electricity) can go out for a week. As the power goes off, sometimes our food gets damaged. We have a generator, but we only use it for lights and the meat scale because petrol is expensive. When the power goes out, our refrigerators and our warmers are affected.
'We braai the meat, then we put it in the warmer for the customers. When the customers order they select from pap, vegetables and meat in the warmers. We have spoken to the ward councillor. Both sides of Vlakfontein suffer outages. When there is an outage, it affects certain extensions at a time and it takes a long time for them to fix the problem. Maybe you can tell them today and they will only fix it after a few days. Or even a week, especially when the transformers are the problem. They blow, and it takes them up to a week to fix. (Many of City Power's transformers and other big infrastructure are between 50 and 75 years old and have never been properly maintained or replaced since their inception. The municipal electricity distributor has a R44-billion maintenance and infrastructure backlog.)
'So, for a week the business is affected. At home it's very bad. I live across the Golden Highway in Vlakfontein proper. In the morning I have to prepare a fire outside, because I don't have money for gas. Then I can bath and come to work. At schools, when there is no power, they come out early. The clinic has a generator so they can keep the service going.
'We use fibre in the area now, so we no longer buy data. We rely on this fibre, so if there is no power, the fibre goes down and there's no communication. The crime rate increases when there is no power. Because some of our street lights don't work when the power is out, most of the area is dark. If we can get three or four more 'apollos' (high solar mast lights), I think the crime rate will be less.'
Kabelo is a resident and a student at The Finishing College in Braamfontein, and he runs a business in Vlakfontein.
'The power outages are very bad, hey, because literally every time it starts raining, or it rains, or it gets a little windy, the lights go. They're gone for days. It's not a few hours — it's four to six days at a time. Food rots, and there's no water to bathe. It's stressful for everybody. Most houses here have gas stoves, or primer stoves that use paraffin, and others light a fire to boil water to bath or to cook. It's really hard. Imagine getting up in the morning to go and look for wood for a fire. As a student, it's bad, because you have to do schoolwork. Without Wi-Fi, the (mobile phone) towers go down and the network is bad. I can't complete my assignments, so I have to do everything there in Braamfontein, and catch late transport back home again.
'The crime increases in the dark — robberies, house break-ins, hijackings and murders — people die here, guys. The ward councillor is aware of the power outages, and I think he is doing the best he can and it is out of his hands, I am not sure. Sitembiso Zungu (the councilor) lets us know what's happening, he communicates with us.
Nishen Govender owns a water company called BluSurge H2O in Lenasia South. He bottles and sells borehole water because the area has had a water crisis for years.
'If the power is out I can't pump or purify any water, so I can't sell any water. Even with clean water in the tank, I can't pump it out. I borrowed a generator, but I've only used it twice because of the fuel costs. Infrastructure and maintenance are a problem. It would help if City Power supported cheaper inverter or generator options, either lower inverter costs or subsidised inverter or subsidised generator costs.'
Joe owns Auto Tech Paints in Lenasia South and has been in business for six years and employs five people.
'We need electricity for bright lights, first of all to stir the paints, to see the colours properly. I bought a generator and we have a power box (inverter), or we would have had to close. It's an expensive eco-flow system, and cost about R30,000. We kick over to the system in outages. The generator runs for about two hours before I have to top up (with diesel) again. And the eco-flow system, being top of the range, can run throughout the day but it is very costly to recharge. I don't have solar so cannot recharge when there is an outage. Staff productivity is affected in that stirring machines and recharging devices that they use in order to get the accuracy of the paints are offline. Fuel costs of R400 to R500 a day hurt our bottom line.
'The Lens ward councillors are hands on, but not so much when it comes to businesses. We live in a society that isn't that advanced. If there is an outage we can report it to our councillors, however they can only do so much until City Power comes through to resolve the issue. They first have to come inspect, and then go back to head office to get the parts or resources they need to do the repair work, and by that time business is closed. (City Power is not able to carry a wide stock of parts for repairs as it owes its suppliers too much.)' DM
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Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Nature reserve and communities collide in Cape Town's landfill controversy as Coastal Park nears capacity
Cape Town's Coastal Park Landfill faces a critical capacity crisis by September 2026, prompting a controversial height extension proposal. This plan is heavily criticised due to existing informal settlements within the landfill's buffer zone, with concern about permit violations and the city's long-term waste strategy. The Coastal Park Landfill, in close proximity to the larger False Bay Nature Reserve in Cape Town, is rapidly approaching its maximum capacity, projected to be reached by September 2026. To mitigate this imminent waste crisis, the City of Cape Town proposes extending the landfill's height from 45 metres to 67m above sea level. But the proposal has drawn sharp criticism from surrounding communities and groups, including whether this is the right way to deal with the escalating waste crisis and that informal settlements already breach the site's buffer zone, allegedly contravening the permit for operating the site. According to the city, the height extension would extend the landfill's lifespan to September 2028. Extending the lifespan of the landfill by two years will also extend the lifespan of the Vissershok Municipal Landfill Site by about two years to 15 years. But this proposed expansion is mired in controversy as informal settlements around the site have encroached directly on to what should be a 400m buffer zone, raising significant environmental and social risks. The city, in response to Daily Maverick, acknowledged that 'unlawful occupation of land' had occurred within the landfill's buffer zone and it was working through required legal processes to correct this. The inhabitants in the buffer zone have been issued eviction notices. According to a city statement, operation of a landfill in contravention of permit conditions may result in a fine of up to R10-million or imprisonment of up to 10 years. Vrygrond community outcry Michael Khumalo, who runs a recycling centre in Vrygrond and chairs the Vrygrond Community Development Forum — which covers Xakabantu, Overcome Heights, Dubai and Capricorn informal settlements — said the community was frustrated by a lack of consultation. 'We would have expected the first thing is first to engage the community that is going to be affected by anything to come. But that has not happened. In fact what we see, we see in newspapers and so on,' said Khumalo. He said that at a recent community meeting, it was resolved that the Vrygrond community would organise a march to the mayor's office on 2 August to deliver a memorandum of demands — including calls to address the lack of service delivery. Khumalo said people were 'living in terrible conditions' and that many had been there for years, deserving respect and mitigation of their living conditions. When it came to the community moving further on to the buffer zone, Khumalo said this was a contradiction from the city, as it said the area was a nature reserve where people could not live and small businesses could not operate, yet the landfill itself was in the nature reserve, and the city was looking at expanding it. Khumalo said the city's massive recycling plant had been constructed within the nature reserve area, implying a double standard where large businesses were allowed, but small, community-driven ones like his were not. Speaking to Daily Maverick while overlooking the landfill, Khumalo described it as a 'gold mine' because it contained a lot of recyclable materials such as metal and plastic, that should not have been buried. He said that the community had been living off the landfill site for years by picking up reusable and recyclable materials and selling these to buy-back centres – this was one of the few employment opportunities available to the community. Brian Nkhata, a Vrygrond resident and part of the Back to Work campaign, and from the recycling association in the Southfield area, said he was also deeply concerned about the plans for the expansion of the landfill. He said that he had seen people dumping recyclable materials on the landfill site and recounted that the city's actions, such as using a large truck to destroy dumped materials, prevented people from recovering recyclables. Khumalo said, 'You don't fix your shortcomings by expanding. Even if you expand [the landfill], you're going to have a bigger mountain in a short space of time because you are not dealing with the problem. The issue is how do we divert stuff that ends up at the landfill, which should not end up there.' He believed that this was where small community-owned recycling businesses like his, having buy-back centres and working with waste-pickers, should be focused on and supported. Nkhata shared his experience with Daily Maverick. He initially did not know what recycling was, but quickly learnt he could earn a living from it. Since becoming involved in recycling around Vrygrond, he has joined a recycling association and attends meetings and seminars related to recycling. He said many others in the community depended on the landfill site for their livelihood through recycling, just like him. Vrygrond resident Jeanette Manuel has struggled with unemployment for years, but now she makes baked goods which she sells at a complex created out of recycled materials, based at Khumalo's recycling centre. When asked about the community moving on to the buffer zone around the landfill, Manuel said some had moved on to the landfill's boundary wall temporarily due to severe flooding that destroyed their homes during heavy rains last year. She said that this was not a permanent move, as residents needed a dry, safe and warm place to stay, and they knew where the boundary was. She said that the community simply expected the city to consider them as 'human beings' who had no other place to go. Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei (FOZR) vice-chairperson Tom Schwerdtfeger said: 'Cape Town is running out of space for landfill sites. We should be in top gear with recycling initiatives and reducing the amount of waste going to landfill as much as possible. 'The cost of waste removal is going to increase dramatically in the coming years – Vissershok is in Tableview. If waste has to be transported from Simon's Town across the city, it is going to cost a fortune, let alone concerns about traffic congestion,' said Schwerdtfeger. Destruction of the natural environment Schwerdtfeger told Daily Maverick that the expansion 'cannot be considered' while there were people inhabiting the buffer zone. He said that the buffer zone had not been maintained since 2020, leading to the destruction of the natural environment in the nature reserve. 'If the current site is unable to meet its licensing conditions, then there can be no scope for expansion. Therefore, the land invasion must be dealt with, with urgency, before the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) proceeds further,' said Schwerdtfeger. Schwerdtfeger said the FOZR understood the need for the application for the height extension, as no alternative site for landfilling had been secured to succeed the Coastal Park Landfill Site. 'This in itself is of great concern to FOZR. Refuse removal in Cape Town is probably going to become a much bigger concern in years to come. [The] Vissershok Waste Management Plant is too far away to service the southern regions of Cape Town in a cost-effective manner, and just the traffic implications alone are hugely concerning,' said Schwerdtfeger. He said the Slangetjiebos section of False Bay Nature Reserve experienced an influx of informal settlers during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Schwerdtfeger said the number of informal settlers had continued to increase and that there were around 1,600 informal settlements. 'We are hugely concerned that this section of the nature reserve might be lost forever unless the city takes a firm stance on ensuring the integrity of our nature reserves,' he said. Slangetjiebos is part of False Bay Nature Reserve, which is a Ramsar site, and Schwerdtfeger said there had been many proven health risks associated with people living near the landfill. 'The proposed expansion of Coastal Park Landfill Site exacerbates all these points.' Public health and safety concerns Schwerdtfeger said that with an increase in height, 'it is anticipated that the methane content within the landfill will increase about 19% over and above current levels,' said Schwerdtfeger. When it came to the potential risks of the increase in landfill height without addressing the buffer zone issue first, Schwerdtfeger said they would see an increase in the probability of fires caused by more [waste] pickers on the site and associated health concerns. Schwerdtfeger said the city had not adequately conferred with residents and groups on the buffer zone issue. 'Pamphlets should be distributed to people living within the buffer zone, highlighting the dangers associated with living in the area. Regular interventions and site visits should be conducted by the city health department. If [there had been] adequate engagement, would people still be living there ?' asked Schwerdtfeger. Zeekoevlei resident Susanne Karcher told Daily Maverick, 'I used to go to the landfill monitoring meetings from the city… but I actually stopped going because I felt it's basically a tick-box exercise.' Karcher said it had always been pointed out at these meetings that informal settlement growth in the buffer zone was a critical deviation. She said that everyone would shake their heads and express how terrible this was, but felt that there wasn't any urgency to do something about it, which was why she stopped attending. 'How can the city even start discussing the heightening, or want to discuss the heightening of a landfill, and expanding the footprint — if already in the current footprint, the operational conditions are not legal… We have a 400m buffer zone and informal settlements go all the way to the fence… and the situation is actually getting worse,' said Karcher. Karcher said she understood the landfill constraints of the city, particularly that they had only two landfill sites currently operational (Coastal Park Landfill and the Visserhok Landfill). 'They are between a rock and a hard place… but I also think it is gross negligence,' said Karcher. Karcher suggested that instead of allowing informal settlements to encroach on valuable nature reserves, the city should map and redevelop existing 'brown sites' (for example, former industrial areas) for affordable housing, arguing that this would reduce land invasions. Cape Town's waste strategy The city is in the basic pre-application Basic Assessment Report (paBAR) phase of project approval for its 'possible application' for height extension at Coastal Park Landfill. The paBAR was available for public review and comment to be incorporated into the formal basic application report, which will be submitted alongside the environmental authorisation to the regulator for approval. The paBAR commenting period concluded on Friday, 25 July 2025. Mandy Marr, the city's councillor in the area, said: 'There is no other alternative in place at the moment… It [the landfill] is going to be full by September next year if we don't extend the height. So that is the issue that we're facing at the moment.' Marr said people had invaded the area and were within the landfill's 400m buffer zone. This meant the landfill was now not operating according to the permit, due to the growth of informal settlements since the Covid-19 pandemic. Asked if a new site had been earmarked to supersede Coastal Park Landfill, the city confirmed that it had identified a possible site, and that the public would be informed when the EIA process began. 'The city is preparing for an EIA process linked to the new site and the land parcels earmarked will be identified during the EIA process.' According to a city statement in response to queries from Daily Maverick, 'This extension is intended to accommodate the increasing volumes of waste generated by Cape Town's residents, ensuring continued access to safe, compliant waste disposal services while protecting both the environment and public health. 'Without the additional airspace, the City of Cape Town could face significant traffic disruptions and socioeconomic strain on both residents and businesses.' According to the statement, these impacts could be avoided if approval were granted. It also said that the city's existing refuse transfer stations, the Swartklip Refuse Transfer Station (17km east of the Coastal Park Landfill Site), among others, would be upgraded from an infrastructural perspective to receive greater volumes of waste, particularly household waste, and this would ensure continued waste management service delivery. In the long term, the city said a refuse transfer centre was planned for construction at the Coastal Park Landfill and was slated to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2030 or sooner. 'The city is also working to extend available landfill airspace and defer the need for additional landfill capacity by encouraging waste diversion,' said the city's statement. Among plans for this was to extend the city's Think Twice recyclables collection service to more areas in the coming months, complemented by swap shops, where residents could swap their recyclables for groceries or vouchers. 'Builders' rubble is currently being repurposed for use in [the] construction of roads and other construction projects. There are also plans to introduce additional drop-off sites, where garden waste is chipped (at the larger sites) for off-site composting, and recyclables are sorted for sale into the markets,' said the city's statement. More information on planned efforts to reduce reliance on landfills can be found in the city's waste strategy. The city manages about 2.1 million tonnes of waste annually, with a diversion rate of 31.53% – but like other cities, it faces major challenges in managing waste due to rapid urbanisation, population growth and increasing consumption patterns. This is what we see unfolding at the Coastal Park Landfill. The City of Cape Town officially launched its new waste strategy on 17 July 2025, outlining a roadmap to achieve its vision of a clean city, where residents and businesses have access to quality, well-regulated, sustainable and affordable waste services. DM
The Citizen
26-07-2025
- The Citizen
City Power announces interim solution for Mahauzana's electricity woes
Residents of Mahauzana Flats in River Park who are grappling with persistent electricity challenges may soon benefit from an interim solution announced by City Power. The utility's General Manager of Public Relations and Communication, Isaac Mangena, clarified that Mahauzana is not a formally registered customer, and the flats, which are part of an unfinished Gauteng Provincial Government project, have been illegally occupied, leading residents to rely on unauthorised connections. Mangena emphasised that City Power is not obligated to supply electricity until the Department formally proclaims the settlement and agrees to cover billing. However, acknowledging the ongoing impasse, the utility has come up with a temporary plan to stabilise the area's electricity supply and reduce strain on the broader River Park community. Also read: City Power leaves Riverpark residents in the dark 'This solution involves the temporary installation of a bulk electricity supply to Mahauzana Flats through a dedicated mini substation and between four to six pillar boxes per block of flats,' he noted. 'Each pillar box will contain a protection system and three-phase prepaid meters for each block. This setup will allow for sub-metering, enabling residents to manage their electricity usage. It is crucial to note that internal house wiring and the installation of compliant distribution boards will remain the responsibility of the residents.' Mangena warned that any illegal connections or non-vending could prompt City Power to disconnect power to the flats or the entire area. 'City Power believes that this is the most viable short-term solution to stabilise the network, curb electricity theft and non-payment, and reduce the power outages that continue to inconvenience other residents of River Park,' Mangena shared. The interim solution aims to address chronic power disruptions while formalisation discussions with the Gauteng Provincial Government continue. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!
The Citizen
20-07-2025
- The Citizen
City Power marks Mandela Day with an outreach in Alexandra
City Power commemorated Mandela Day through an outreach programme at the Itlhokomeleng Home for the Aged and Disabled in Alexandra. The engagement provided material aid and facilitated access to core public services, aligning with the day's principle of community upliftment. Read more: City Power seizes cables worth about R2.5m in Riverpark The utility's general manager in the department of public relations and communication Isaac Mangena said the outreach programme, done in partnership with other supporting organisations, saw the utility donate blankets and branded T-shirts to assist elderly residents during the winter season. They also participated in cleaning the facility, served lunch, and spent the day interacting with the home's residents. 'One of the highlights of the day was a special educational play, performed by a talented team from Alex, aimed at raising awareness about the free basic electricity (FBE) programme, an initiative designed to support indigent residents, including pensioners, unemployed people, and low-income households earning less than R7 503.01 per month.' The initiative offers 50kWh of electricity monthly, at no cost, to qualifying households. City Power facilitated on-site registration for the FBE programme, assisting qualifying residents directly at the event. The utility's stakeholder relations manager Tshepo Chuene emphasised the importance of bringing services to the citizens. 'When we service you, we must not service you from a distance, we must service you from here. Whenever you meet issues, we are here to resolve them. You are very important to us. Our job is to make sure we keep the lights on. That is why, before, I had said we are going to give you free basic electricity, and we are going to help you register.' City Power demonstrated that its role extends beyond technical service delivery and further reaffirmed its commitment to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable communities. 'The Mandela Day initiative served as a reminder of the power of collective action,' Mangena stated. 'With the entity using the day to demonstrate how small acts of service can bring dignity, comfort, and lasting impact to those in need.' Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
