Laudium, Ward 61 — Sustained community mobilisation and formal civic action have compelled the City to publicly engage Ward 61 residents on long-standing electricity and water infrastructure failures affecting the area.
The high-level engagement followed a formal memorandum coordinated by the Concerned Community Forum (CCF) after weeks of service delivery failures, repeated storm-related outages, long restoration times, and prolonged water shortages in Laudium and surrounding areas. The CCF consolidated these concerns into a formal submission to the City, calling for urgent intervention and accountability.
Officials in attendance:
Kholofelo Morodi – MMC and Political
Head for Region 4
Regional Director – Phellemon Mathane
Director Water and Sanitation – Sbusiso Mabase
Director Roads and Stormwater: Soma Naidoo
Deputy Director Electricity: Josiah Choake.
PR Councillor – Prajay Ramjee
Approximately 30 residents attended the meeting. The CCF emphasises that the interventions discussed and outcomes are intended to benefit the entire Ward 61 community. CCF representatives made efforts to reach a wider audience, but turnout has been affected by limited cross platform support. Two requests were sent to the Ward 61 Residents Association Chairperson, Zakiya Sheik, requesting that she circulates the notice of the meeting on the Ward 61 Residents Association platform. Both requests were not responded to.
officials from the Tshwane Council, at the public meeting called by the CCF.
Lushika Mooloo of the CCF stressed that, “despite these challenges, our priority remains securing solutions that benefit the whole community”.
“This engagement happened because the community acted collectively,” said Noenz Moosa Lutz.
and Lushika Mooloo at the public meeting.
Key Issues Raised by Residents
The memorandum and public participation highlighted:
- Frequent electricity outages, particularly during severe wind, storms and lightning
- Repeated power failures, with some outages lasting several hours to days at a time.
- A mini substation near Himalaya Street and 36th Avenue has a constant power trip
- Water supply instability and reservoir concern
- Dry taps in our area (for days on end) without consistent and transparent feedback, prompting questions about reservoir capacity, ageing pipelines, leaks and uneven distribution.
- Illegal electricity and water connections overloading networks
- Illegal connections and unregulated consumption are placing strain on ageing infrastructure, this contributes to transformer failures, pressure drops and repeated maintenance incidents
- Zoning violations and unauthorised business activity in residential areas
- The visible growth of shops, crèches, and multi-unit rentals operating from residential properties without clear approvals.
- Blocked stormwater drains and sanitation risks
- Blocked drains, littering and illegal dumping clog stormwater systems, contributing to flooding during heavy rain leading to water pooling on roads, infrastructure damage and stagnant water that creates health and sanitation risks for residents.
Safety Hazards
An open street-level manhole, which had been left uncovered for an extended period. A child previously fell into the open manhole, raising serious safety concerns for pedestrians, especially schoolchildren. A manhole cover at a municipal reservoir, was missing or damaged for a long period of time, creating both safety and sanitation risks.
Service disruptions impact religious observances, schooling, home businesses and vulnerable groups such as the elderly. The holy month of Ramadaan began on 19 February, and year after year our Muslim community experiences recurring outages during this sacred period. Because fasting, prayer and meal preparation take place at fixed times, any interruption to water or electricity directly affects the ability to observe these practices properly. Interruptions during significant religious periods across faiths undermine the practical ability to observe religious practices, making consistent service delivery essential to the free exercise of religion.
City response and commitments
The MMC for Region 4, Kholofelo Morodi and senior municipal officials acknowledged that Ward 61 is facing significant infrastructure strain and outlined a series of interventions and undertakings in response to the community’s memorandum.
Infrastructure Funding
The MMC confirmed that the City’s upcoming adjustment budget will prioritise electricity and water infrastructure. A “large portion” of the adjustment budget is being directed toward these sectors to begin addressing years of under-investment and the mismatch between infrastructure capacity and current demand.
Electricity Network
City electricity officials acknowledged that repeated outages in the area are linked to ageing infrastructure, weather-related damage, illegal connections and network overloading.
- Parts of the electricity network are no longer suited to current demand levels
- Illegal connections and overloaded transformers increase the risk of faults and trips
- Lightning and severe weather frequently trigger outages
- Some protective equipment on the network is currently dysfunctional or outdated Water Network City water officials acknowledged that water supply challenges are linked to high demand, ageing infrastructure, leaks and limited storage capacity.
- Consumption in parts of the city is exceeding system design and licensed capacity
- Ageing pipelines and delayed pipe replacement contribute to losses and instability
- Illegal connections and unregulated use add strain to the system
- Reservoir monitoring currently has gaps, particularly overnight, which can delay response to issues
Officials noted that pipe replacement budgets are limited relative to the scale of infrastructure backlogs across the city.
The City committed to providing a written plan outlining immediate, medium- and long-term water interventions, including contingency measures during outages.
Immediate Interventions
Officials committed to dispatching a technical team from Tuesday 17 February and Friday, 20 February 2026 to:
- Conduct on-site inspections
- Carry out urgent tree trimming where required
- Assess whether equipment repairs or pole replacements are necessary
- Replace manhole covers
- (These include and will result in Tree-Pruning Programme and full debris removal and site clean-up.)
- Officials confirmed that a targeted tree pruning “boot camp” would be implemented in Ward 61. The intervention was scheduled for and took place with teams deployed in the area for three days.
- A fault hotspot near Bengal and Himalaya Streets was linked to vegetation interfering with overhead lines and a nearby mini substation, causing weather-related outages. Officials scheduled an inspection and targeted trimming to assess and address the problem.
Water – Attending to specific faults and leaks:
- Reported issues such as the missing manhole covers will be attended to immediately and were instructed by the MMC to verify completion and provide confirmation that the repairs had been carried out.
- Backfilling problems and visible leaks would be attended to and checked personally where flagged.
- Reservoir monitoring and response:
Reservoirs are monitored via telemetry and that teams are dispatched when levels trigger alarms. They acknowledged gaps in overnight monitoring and said improvements are being considered.
Medium to long term solutions:
Streetlight Failures and Repairs
Streetlight circuits are interconnected, meaning a single faulty light or cable can trip an entire line and locating the exact source of the fault may take several days. The officials have confirmed that a dedicated team has been assigned to Laudium and surrounding areas, but no repair timelines were provided.
Illegal Connections
Illegal electricity and water connections are being removed across the City, noting they strain the system and finances. Enforcement will continue, alongside plans to formalise connections (including informal settlements) through metering.
Illegal Buildings and Zoning
A new municipal by-law nearing finalisation will allow the City to impose daily fines on non-compliant property owners, strengthening enforcement against illegal developments and unauthorised business activity in residential areas.
Ward Councillor and a PR Councillor
MMC Kholofelo Morodi provided the following clarity: The Ward Councillor was elected by residents in a specific geographical area, while PR Councillors are elected through party lists. Both have equal standing and authority in Council, can raise service delivery matters, and residents may approach either for assistance.
Concerned Community Forum – A Shift Toward Active Citizenship
The engagement reflects a broader trend of communities organising to demand accountability in local governance. While City officials cited budget constraints, ageing infrastructure and rapid urban growth, residents emphasised that communication gaps and slow response times remain a major frustration.
The Concerned Community Forum positioned itself as a civic bridge between residents and the City, emphasising non partisan advocacy focused on service delivery outcomes.
Report submitted by Lushika Mooloo