IN THE DARK: Children’s Memorial Institute still without power after 19 days, despite mayor’s promise
The Children’s Memorial Institute in Parktown enters its 19th consecutive day without electricity on Monday after City of Johannesburg Revenue officials overruled Mayor Dada Morero’s explicit promise to restore power, citing Gauteng Health’s failure to submit a debt-payment plan.
The Children's Memorial Institute (CMI) in Parktown has been without electricity for 19 consecutive days, despite Mayor Dada Morero's promise to restore power. City officials overruled the mayor's promise, citing Gauteng Health's failure to submit a debt-payment plan. The issue stems from R159.2 million in accumulated provincial utility arrears.
Mayor Morero visited the CMI on Wednesday, promising that power would be reconnected by the following day, but City Power officials arrived and said they could not restore power without a signed debt agreement. The CMI, which houses 22 child-welfare NGOs and 365 special-needs learners, has been operating under a blackout, forcing community workers to use their own resources to keep critical services afloat.
Despite two high court rulings ordering the relevant departments to resolve internal utility disputes, the bureaucratic standoff persists.
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