The Tshwane R144 million refurbishment of Kentron substation has been marred by allegations of fraud, corruption, and maladministration.
An insider on the project steering committee who spoke to The Star on Tuesday said out of the R144m only R4.8m was budgeted for civils and construction.
The insider said he had asked what the remaining R139.2m was for.
He said the explanation received was that the R139.2m was for the electrical component, which according to him, was going to be taken from the old substation.
“They are moving current components to what will be the newly constructed building. That balance is not for electrical components,” he said.
He said the only visible construction on the site was the guard house.
The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, dismissed allegations of corruption and maladministration around the upgrade of the substation.
Mashigo said the construction of the new substation had commenced and was well within the planned time frame.
“Yes, the appointed contractor is busy with the construction of the new substation. The project was first commissioned in October 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of February 2025,” he said.
Mashigo said the bulk of the expenditure was on the procurement of electrical equipment, which he said stood at an estimated R47 370 239.29 to date.
On the question of why the procured equipment was not visible at the construction site, he said the substation building had been negatively impacted by prolonged engagement with so-called local “business forums”.
However, the matters had been resolved and all the outdoor equipment had been delivered, he said.
“The indoor equipment is kept in storage until the new substation is ready to house it,” he added.
According to the metro, the refurbishment project of the Kentron substation was aimed at ending the forever-recurring electricity outages in the area.
A local councillor told The Star that the allocated budget to the electricity department was also aimed at improving the power supply to Eco Park, Zwartkop, Highveld Techno Park, Highveld, and Centurion Residential Estate (west).
“The upgrade is expected to drastically improve the power supply to the Swartkop, Eco Park, Highveld, and Southdowns areas,” said the councillor.
Before the upgrade, the substation was plagued by fires, cable theft, reoccurring power trips, and even lightning, leading to power outages affecting several parts of Centurion.
The Star
Sipho Jack
sipho.jack@inl.co.za