Central SA
Free State government officials in the dark─── CATHY DLODLO 10:15 Wed, 04 May 2022
Hundreds of Free State government officials who are working at one of the biggest government buildings in Bloemfontein, the OR Tambo House, have now been in the dark for two days.
The building – that also houses Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela’s office – is left without electricity due to a technical problem.
The Public Service Association in the Free State's, Lynsie Pelser, says government employees returned from a long weekend to a building with no electricity. She says the provincial department of Public Works, however, indicated that power to the building was not cut due to the provincial government’s outstanding debt.
Also read: Provincial government’s offices left in the dark
This was confirmed by the spokesperson for the municipality’s electricity company, Centlec's Lele Mamatu. He said the building is powerless due to the breakdown of the substation that feeds the building electricity. Centlec officials have been attending to the problem since Monday, and at this stage it is unclear when the lights will come back on. OR Tambo has previously been left in the dark for days due to their debt to the municipality.
Also read: FS government to pay up R90m to Centlec
The provincial government has reached an agreement with the power utility, which stated they will pay R90 million monthly in an attempt to settle their debt to Centlec.
