Neglect, stalled contracts and collapse: Inside Nelson Mandela Bay’s pylon disaster

Repeated high-voltage pylon collapses in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality have caused a severe, ongoing infrastructure crisis, leading to multiple widespread blackouts and water supply disruptions.

Journalist Riaan Marais reported that there have been at least seven major collapses in less than two years.

He explained that the municipality is largely to blame, with root issues in mismanagement, corruption, and strategic errors within the electricity department.

“The warnings of these pylons deteriorating over time have been there for years; they have known about the condition of these things.

“Nothing's being done. And now places like Summerstrand and Walmer are without power for days on end because of, basically, a lack of maintenance… It is way worse than what load-shedding was.”

Marais added that a project was put in place to replace the pylons, but it stalled due to contract issues.

"A project was put in place, but because contracts were not renewed, things fell apart, and in 2018, this thing came to a standstill. Now, fast-forward to 2024; we have pylons collapsing.”

He highlighted the need for a replacement project, as maintenance is no longer an option for the collapsed pylons.

“Are we waiting for another disaster to hit before we see movement and more weeks without power? These are the questions that we need to ask.”

To listen to Marais in conversation with CapeTalk’s John Maytham, use the audio player below: