Pylon plans being pushed through
Despite being a resident of Alberton, the mayor allowed the ruling party and the EFF to sway his decisions. In fact he did not even respond.
THE ANC and EFF have joined forces to push through the plans to erect power lines/pylons right through Alberton.
At a council meeting which lasted well into the early hours of Friday morning, March 31, the item proposing that Eskom be allowed to erect high-power pylons through the CBD of Alberton was hotly debated by councillor De Beer, the spokesperson on the relevant oversight committe, and Alderman Bruna Haipel, the ward councillor who has been contesting the proposal since 2011.
Read: Tempers flare over pylons
In her speech to the mayor, Haipel stated that the item was fraught with untruths and deliberate omissions in order to mislead everyone.
“The fact that Clr Petersen, the chairperson of the oversight committee dealing with this item, gave the community his word, at the meeting of March 3, that there would be a legally constituted public participation meeting giving the residents three weeks’ notice, was totally ignored,” Haipel told the RECORD.
Haipel pointed out that very few residents had received notices from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in respect of the meeting proposed for Friday, March 3, and all people present had been informed by her.
Valid reasons why this proposal should not be accepted were highlighted and Haipel challenged the mayor to do the correct thing by the ratepayers of Alberton, who have been supporting the opposition to the defacement of the CBD from the very beginning, but this challenge fell on deaf ears.
“Despite being a resident of Alberton, the mayor allowed the ruling party and the EFF to sway his decisions. In fact he did not even respond. We are completely appalled by the treatment we received from the ANC and EFF,” said Haipel.
The EFF said all those opposed to the erection of the pylons are racists who don’t want black people to have electricity.
Also Read: Pylons will deface Alberton
Several other options were given that were much less obtrusive and cheaper, that would not pose health risks or lead to economic decline and significant property value decreases, not to mention the eyesore it would create.
Another important point is that none of the electricity supplied would even go to Alberton at all.
The following issues were highlighted:
- Public participation was never effectively done.
- The chair of oversight confirmed and took it upon himself to organise a legal public meeting with three weeks’ notice.
- There are alternative routes, cheaper options and even the option to go underground.
- Various requests in the minority report were totally ignored.
However, the ruling party and the EFF voted to approve the sale of all 54 land parcels in Ekurhuleni for R20 million.
“The EMM has elected to take its ‘30 pieces of silver’ and ignore the ratepayers. What’s more, a copy of a letter for the approval of the second extension of the Environmental Assessment was sent to me and it summarily says that their application for extension was approved despite the fact that only one extension is allowed, whereafter the application process should start anew. This is thus illegal,” said Haipel.
The RECORD contacted the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality for comment, but we received none.
You may also be interested in:
Residents have their say about planned pylons
Power lines set to deface Alberton
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