Eskom notes with regret the statements and allegations made by the Democratic Alliance (DA) regarding the recent fires that ravaged parts of the Eastern and Western Cape.
In a statement issued by the DA on Tuesday, they expressed concern over growing reports of Eskom cables and infrastructure being involved in igniting fires, due to broken cables striking surrounding vegetation.
The Party spokesperson for Electricity, Kevin Mileham, says they will submit a range of probing parliamentary questions to the Minister of Electricity to ascertain the facts around a potentially deadly link.
He asks, in particular, whether Eskom’s own technicians or subcontractors are completing maintenance and repairs sufficiently, and what quality control is being applied to these activities.
Mileham says Eskom’s security strategy is stuck in the past because it is not using modern technology to prevent high-capacity cable theft and vandalism.
He says the scourge of cable theft is no longer just an economic crime costing South Africa R45 billion a year, but has mutated into an environmental disaster incinerating the countryside.
The DA’s questions will probe Eskom’s security budget and technology, and why it has not aggressively pivoted to advanced remote monitoring, such as drone surveillance and arc-detection systems, which can detect a cut line before a fire starts.
Mileham says they also want to determine whether suspects are being appropriately charged with Environmental Crimes and Arson, rather than minor theft or trespassing.
Eskom said it would assist the Minister’s office in responding to questions when required.
