The Gauteng government on Wednesday expressed its concern about continuous electricity supply disruptions at the Automotive Supplier Park (ASP) in Rosslyn, Tshwane.
In recent weeks, production had been halted several times owing to cable theft, said Gauteng Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Lebogang Maile.
He said 78.3% of the disruptions were as a result of cable theft. The power outages affected fourteen factories that supplied vehicle assembling plants, such as Ford Motor Company, BMW and Nissan.
“The disruptions are causing serious damage to Gauteng’s image as an industry-friendly province and a destination of choice for investors,” warned Maile. “It undermines our efforts to stimulate the economic growth of the province.”
The disruptions had seen workers lose R575 000 in wages collectively, he added.
Maile called on the City of Tshwane, most notably Mayor Solly Msimang, to attend to the challenge of cable theft since it had “reached crisis proportions”.
He added that the Gauteng government had contributed around R40-million towards the upgrade of the K3 substation and the rest of the power network supplying the ASP.