On Thursday, March 24 MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services in the City of Joburg, Councillor Michael Sun issued a media statement that City Power would cut costs after adopting a new model for its dealings with contractors.
According to Councillor Sun the City of Joburg is not terminating the service of contractors, but rather introducing a new cost-saving model, which is being implemented by City Power.
“Allegations that the new model will lead to more power outages are simply not true; the capacity of City Power to attend to household faults will not be compromised.
“We appreciate and recognise the good work and support that City Power has received from its contractors, many of whom work tirelessly to restore power outages.
“Regrettably, as with any service delivery, it is important to measure the success and the quality of the work and service provided, which the City has since established has been more costly and not sustainable.
“A decision has therefore been taken to discontinue the payment of call-out fees, which is a charge paid to contractors to assess the problem and advise City Power regarding the repairs that are required.
“In line with our goal to run City Power in an efficient and profitable manner, management has assessed the call-out fee expenditure levied by the contractors and found it to be unsustainable and not supported in the turn-around of City Power,” said Sun.
He said this change would see work dispatched to City Power’s internal resources directly by the Dispatch Centre.
Depot team leaders will monitor the total amount of work versus the available resources, and from there decide and issue work to contractors if it is required – depending on the workload.
“In this way, we will be able to ensure a sustained and balanced approach to work allocation and cost-effectiveness.
“The new multi-party government is here to make changes to benefit our residents, regardless of whether it is deemed an unpopular decision by certain sectors,” said Sun.
