POLOKWANE – The municipality says it does have an electrical engineer in service, a full time employee with over 16 years’ experience.
This follows a parliamentary question by the DA and media reports that towns in Limpopo only had five electrical engineers in their employ among them.
Polokwane was mentioned as one of the municipalities that had not responded to the question yet. Cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister, Pravin Gordan, said he would pass on information when he had received it from the relevant municipalities.
Municipal spokesperson, Malesela Maubane, told Review that in 2010 the municipality had three qualified electrical engineers. “Until 2012 we employed two engineers,” he said, adding that currently there was one electrical engineer.
Electrical engineers play a big role in ascertaining the finances, personnel requirements and equipment needed in electrical departments of municipalities.
DA member of parliament, Desiree van der Walt, asked in a written parliamentary question which of the municipalities in Limpopo had appointed appropriately qualified electrical engineers in charge of electrical networks. The media reported that only 13 municipalities had suitably qualified electrical engineers in place.
Seventeen municipalities in the province did not distribute electricity and were supplied by Eskom.
Van der Walt also asked whether municipalities had a qualified person in a full-time capacity to oversee the use of machinery, and Gordhan answered that Polokwane had such a person to monitor and oversee premises where machinery was used.
