While the introduction of 13,000 new electricity smart meters for the city has been welcomed to improve revenue collection for Sol Plaatje Municipality, opposition parties have cautioned against potential corruption and misuse of the project for self-enrichment.
WHILE the introduction of 13,000 new electricity smart meters for the city has been welcomed to improve revenue collection for Sol Plaatje Municipality, opposition parties have cautioned against potential corruption and misuse of the project for self-enrichment.
The executive head of the IoT Centre of Excellence at Vodacom, Maanda Rautumbu, said the smart meters would not be installed at businesses or homes of indigent residents.
“The smart meters will reduce losses, improve accurate billing and identify fraudulent activity,” he explained.
Sol Plaatje municipal manager Thapelo Matlala noted that Sol Plaatje was among the first municipalities in the country to receive a R100 million grant from the National Treasury as part of a debt relief programme for the installation of the new meters.
“National Treasury appointed Vodacom as the preferred service provider on a three-year contract for the supply and installation of smart metering solutions. The project will be managed by the Office of the Speaker. Payments will be administered by National Treasury and will be made directly to the telecommunications company,” said Matlala.
He added that ward councillors would be responsible for appointing technicians and electricians from their respective wards to install the meters.
“Interns and young, unemployed residents will be trained by and gain skills from Vodacom’s partners, Macrocomm and Onetec, who will do the installations.
“Installations will begin next week and will be completed by March 2025. We do not have the luxury of time and do not want any backlogs. We will make sure that the meters are compatible with our system.”
Matlala stated that the meters were tamper-proof and could detect theft and whether electricity was being bypassed.
“The CBD has the highest occurrence of tampering,” he noted.
ANC councillor Thapelo Nkukane encouraged the council to “blindly welcome” the new meters.
“We must not focus on the negative. R100 million is a success story. Averting a city-wide shutdown is a success. Imagine what the city would have looked like if it went ahead,” he said.
EFF councillor Pontsho Mocwana was concerned that certain ward councillors would use the project as an “employment agency”.
“If ward councillors are in charge of appointing electricians and technicians, it opens up loopholes for corruption. Some ward councillors will use this as an opportunity to campaign for themselves by hiring those close to them, like they are doing with other projects. Why is installation being rushed over four months?” asked Mocwana.
He pointed out that 30 percent of the work should be awarded to small and local businesses.
“We cannot blindly accept this proposal.”
He also objected that a service provider who “owes a refund for incorrect billing” was being “imposed” on the municipality.
“Councillors receive a R3,400 monthly cellphone allowance but ended up paying double the price. A two-year business contract was entered into between the municipality and Vodacom. About 80 percent of councillors and municipal employees ended up paying inflated invoices.”
ACDP councillor Roddy Loff believed that the municipality should have been permitted to appoint its own service provider.
“We need to protect ourselves from incomplete projects where the budget is squandered.”
DA councillor Christopher Phiri queried whether the new meters would have a higher consumption of electricity compared to the old models.
DA councillor Marie Byleveld questioned the relevance of changing electricity meters before the end of the month, if the municipality was introducing new meters in March.
The Speaker, Nomizizi Shwababa, explained that it was necessary to change the meters as the current system would shut down on November 24 and consumers would not be able to load any prepaid tokens.
Sol Plaatje executive mayor Kagisho Sonyoni stated that thousands of meters would be replaced with immediate effect.
“We will ensure that the meters last and that they meet the quality standards. The roll-out of the new meters will create jobs and result in the skills transfer of SMMEs that are appointed,” said Sonyoni.
