Mongezi Koko24 June 2024 | 4:50City of Tshwane says sabotage may be behind water outages in parts of the metroRethabiseng and Ekangala areas have been without consistent water supply, and the City says deliberate valve tampering may be the reason for this.City of TshwanePicture: Pixabay/balouriarajesh JOHANNESBURG - The City of Tshwane said that sabotage may be behind a prolonged water outage in Rethabiseng and Ekangana last week. Hundreds of litres of water gushed out in a nearby veld from the pipe, compounding the water challenge for residents. The metro said the opening of a valve on a pipe in Rethabiseng may be one of the contributing factors to why the two areas still don’t have consistently running water. Tshwane city manager, Johann Mettler, condemned this act, describing it as sabotage and labelling it evil and barbaric. The city said, as a result, residents had been denied their human right of access to water. In March this year, Rethabiseng and Ekangala experienced a prolonged water outage after the breakdown of a pump at the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant, which the city said had since been resolved. The water issue in the two areas has seen flare-ups in the past, with police remaining on high alert. Since last week's incident, water supply has been restored to all the low-lying areas, except in high-lying areas. Technicians conducted inspections at the Rethabiseng valve, before inspecting other valves to ensure that they were closed. Investigations into the incident are underway. Sections Home | South Africa The City of Tshwane says the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant is currently out of operation due to the poor water quality The city has attributed this to the recent heavy rains which have resulted in water that is difficult to treat Tshwane Spokesperson Lindela Mashigo says their technical team is closely monitoring the situation and working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible Mashigo added that the plant will resume operations once the water quality improves to a level that allows for safe and effective treatment “The following areas in Region 7 are affected Bronkhorstspruit Town Thembisile Hani Local Municipality as well as Zithobeni Roaming water tankers will be arranged for all the affected areas The City of Tshwane apologises for the inconvenience that may be encountered as a result of this temporary shutdown.” Temporary shutdown of Bronkhorspruit Water Treatment Plant. pic.twitter.com/MnuNuVp1jL — City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) March 4, 2025 The City of Tshwane reported a power outage that is currently affecting parts of the municipality’s Region 7 following a trip at an Eskom Komdraai Substation in Emalahleni today The city says the blackout has also impacted operations at the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant Lindela Mashigo says Eskom is investigating the cause “The following areas are affected; Ekangala all electrical appliances must always be treated as live (still on) during this interruption of essential service The city regrets any inconvenience that may be encountered as a result of this blackout is regrettable.” Power outage affects parts of Region 7. pic.twitter.com/YVZEKMai8o — City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) March 7, 2025 03 January 2022: Eskom is implementing load reduction from 05:00 – 09:00 (tomorrow morning 04 January 2022) to avoid network overloading in high density areas Below is a list of some parts of affected areas: customers are urged to switch off all their electrical appliances to avoid possible damage due to power surges when supply returns.  Failure to do so may lead to transformer trips or failures and damages to household appliances when supply is restored.  Communities are encouraged to report meter bypasses illegal connections and vandalism of the electricity infrastructure on the Eskom Crime-Line number: 0800 11 27 22 © 2025 Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd Reg No 2002/015527/30 All rights reserved  |  Terms of use Mr and Miss Tshwane were crowned in Rethabiseng at the Hope Fellowship Church on 9 October. The pageant was held from 10:00 till 19:00 with a panel of six judges that consisted of Miss Style Intercontinental South Africa 2020, Ms Nozipho Sebothoma, alongside a philanthropist, Ms Thandi Mthembu, a model, Mr Vincent Kabini and Mr Mpumalanga top 5 finalists, Mr Fisokuhle Magagula. The Mr and Miss Tshwane winners are Lethabo Baloyi (22) and Olerato Mtshweni (21). Both of them have hearts for which this platform represents. “ The event focused on gender-based violence and creating awareness in and around schools,” said Mr Asan Mahlangu, founder of the Mr and Miss Tshwane Regions. Winner Lethabo Baloyi said that his main goal is to serve as a bridge between potential and opportunity. “I have always believed that as the youth, we have the power to redefine our generation because when we unite and raise our voices together, the words “youth power” become more than just a phrase, they become a movement.” This newly crowned Mr Tshwane wants to use the platform to inspire, empower, innovate and unite the youth. “I want to educate and raise awareness that each of us is enough and that we all are beautiful, talented and intelligent just in different ways especially to people who grew up in poor backgrounds. They tend to look down on themselves solely because of opportunities they were never exposed to.” Mr Baloyi might be young, but he has wisdom and insight and he believes there will come a change for he doesn’t just compete to win. “I competed because I saw this as an opportunity to develop and better myself as an individual, to expand my growth and also build on my craft. I also believe it does something magical to you. “Participating was so much beyond my expectations because it changed who I am, my vision and everything I once was. “This competition taught me so much about myself and I learned so much about other key things in life from poise, grace, proper communication, building self-confidence and networking.” Ms Mtshweni said she entered the pageant to challenge herself in performing in the spotlight, learn new skills in her public presentation to become a better public speaker and communicator because ultimately, she wants to impact many lives. “I entered for a true definition of who I am. “Olerato means ‘You are love’ and my ultimate goal was to share the love that God has invested in me.” She wants to use the platform to leave a mark and speak into people’s lives. “During my reign I want to leave footsteps to those who will be coming behind me, leave a mark that will groom those coming after me because I believe that to enforce change, we need to start from our roots and groom the growing.” Miss Mtshweni will also be visiting veterinary facilities that foster lost and sick animals because she wants people to see the impact that humans have on animals. “I stand against animal cruelty and any kind of violence.” Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA) Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has maintained that there are no issues with the source of water supply to Rethabiseng and Riamar Park suburbs in Bronkhorstspruit despite slight discolouration in the water This was after serious concerns were raised by residents about the quality of water provided by the municipality In the wake of the concerns the City undertook to conduct tests in the water in the areas in Bronkhorstspruit the MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations Daryl Johnston said the water test in Bronkhorstspruit has come up clean while the two tests in Rethabiseng and Riamar Park have not “There is slight discolouration in the water as well as microbiological contaminants in the water that reaches residents,” Johnston said He said the result was that the water was clean during the water tests at the reservoir and water being provided from the plant “This demonstrates that there are no issues at the source of the supply The contamination is probably occurring in the distribution network This means that some of the water reaching residents is not safe to drink without being boiled first,” he said Johnston said the municipality would embark on “a comprehensive flushing of the pipes and using chemical decontamination to clean the distribution network” He cautioned residents that the process of flushing of the pipes may increase the discoloration until the water is clear “We have prioritised the work to repair any vandalised and damaged sections of the network which may be the source of the contamination This should clear the contaminants out of the pipes and restore the water to full potability,” he said the City has as of Tuesday dispatched water trucks to distribute water to the Bronkhorstspruit community Johnston said: “We will continue to monitor this situation closely and I will provide a further update when our restorative actions are complete I apologise to the residents of Bronkhorstspruit and commit that we will ensure that this matter is resolved.” MMC for Human Settlements Abel Tau reported that there were water shortages as a result of insufficient water tankers in the Rooiwal and Marikana areas in Ward 100 and the Mooiplaats and Marry Me areas in Ward 89 Tau said: “The contract for the water tanker service expired on May 13 The City subsequently concluded a new contract that started on May 14 The City has been busy with the administrative work throughout the weekend in order to ensure that the contract transition runs smoothly and that the contractors are back in service and continue with the work of providing water services.” He said the City has put mitigating measures in place by sending available tankers to fill the gap at specified areas in order to ensure that everyone is provided with water “Communities are urged to use water sparingly and to approach their ward councillors if there is a water shortage,” he said 21 December 2021: Eskom is implementing load reduction from 17:00 – 22:00 to avoid network overloading in high density areas