Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya’s report that over 90,000 streetlights have been fixed across the municipality has been met with fierce criticism from residents. 

The backlash comes after Moya recently reported that the City of Tshwane had made significant progress in public illumination, with 91,581 streetlights fixed across the metro.

She said: “The City of Tshwane continues to make progress in the illumination of communities as recorded at our weekly service delivery war-room there have been 91,581 public lights that have been fixed across the city.”

She explained that many of the streetlights in the city are vandalised through theft which increases the service delivery backlog faced by her teams. 

“While these challenges persist, we have made it a priority to ensure that our public areas are visible at night to make life easier for residents and businesses,” she said.

However, the DA expressed skepticism and criticism, accusing Moya of misleading the public about the state of public street lighting.

Themba Fosi, DA Tshwane spokesperson for Utility Services, said: “These figures, presented as evidence of progress, simply do not align with the reality on the ground.”

Moya’s recent press statement provided a breakdown of fixed streetlights across the seven regions, claiming, for instance, that 18,070 lights are operational in Region 4 and 22,270 in Region 3.

According to Fosi, residents across Tshwane are well aware that the city’s streets remain plunged in darkness.

“The City is experiencing unprecedented levels of darkness, undermining the safety and quality of life for our communities. This is not the service delivery Tshwane residents deserve,” he said.

He said the mayor’s figures raise serious concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data.

“At the end of July the mayor reported that only 20,000 streetlights were operational across the city. The sudden leap to 91,581 in just six weeks defies belief and suggests a troubling lack of transparency,” he said.

The DA, according to Fosi, is urging the city to implement solutions introduced during Cilliers Brink’s tenure as mayor.

The solutions include replacing street lights with solar solutions to overcome the challenges of vandalism and moving away from contractors that benefit from vandalised streetlights.

Residents have also taken to social media to blast the mayor’s report, with one resident saying, “Four years on, still no streetlights fixed on Rooihuiskraal Road despite emails and complaints. No response. What a joke, being proud of doing basic maintenance we pay a ton every month.”

A Soshanguve Extension 5 resident questioned the mayor’s claims, asking, “Which lights? Our high-mast light hasn’t worked for over a decade, and our streets are still dark.”

Another resident shared their frustrating experience, saying, “We’ve had working streetlights for only one week in the past three years. After countless complaints, Boekenhout Road in ward 69 was finally fixed. But a week later, the electricity team damaged the power cable with reckless digging. It’s been a month, and no one’s taking responsibility to fix it.”

Moya said the city has invested in the repair of high-mast lights, with 940 repaired and 540 still to be fixed, emphasising the city’s commitment to ensuring public areas are visible at night.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

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