Monopoles planted eight years ago but never put into use are seen next to the high-risk pylons on the Sardinia Bay line in Nelson Mandela Bay on 5 February. (Photo: Deon Ferreira) 
An oversight visit by the Democratic Alliance to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's high-voltage transmission line near Sardinia Bay has revealed at least one pylon that is heavily corroded and extensively rusted.
A few of the pylon’s latticework structures, integral to its construction, are rusted through and have separated.
/file/attachments/orphans/DSC_7316copy_755242.jpg "Latticework support structures on this high-voltage pylon near Sardinia Bay have separated due to rust. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)")
While the pylons in this area are still in use, monopoles were planted next to them eight or nine years ago to replace the deteriorating masts, but the cables were never transferred.
This contract ended in 2017. A contract for the maintenance of the pylons was put out for tender in 2021 and awarded in September 2022.
/file/attachments/orphans/DSC_3095copy_372488.jpg "Members of the DA, led by the mayoral candidate for the metro, Retief Odendaal, inspect a rusty pylon near Sardinia Bay on 5 February. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)")
However, the implementation of the contract has been delayed several times. Reasons include referrals of the award to the metro’s legal department and legal objections from at least two prominent law firms in the city, which were refuted by electricity officials.
Appeals by officials, desperate to get the contract in place, were made as high up as the mayor’s office. Documentation included dire warnings that the city would lose available grant funding as the delays were preventing its timely expenditure.
Two sets of high-voltage pylons in Nelson Mandela Bay have already collapsed — the first set in August 2024 and the second in January 2026. Both collapses resulted in a large part of the metro being plunged into darkness, costing small businesses millions of rands in losses. The January pylon collapse also caused large areas of the metro to lose access to water.
/file/attachments/orphans/DSC_3087copy_517136.jpg "Rust on the foot of a transmission tower at Sardinia Bay. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)")
In January, the metro’s executive mayor, Babalwa Lobishe, asked the acting city manager, Lonwabo Ngoqo, to institute a forensic investigation into supply chain management in the metro.
In November, the deputy mayor, Gary van Niekerk, asked for an investigation of the metro’s Legal Services Department. In a memo addressed to the acting city manager, Van Niekerk said the Auditor-General’s staff had raised serious concerns about the role the legal department was playing in ensuring compliance with supply chain management procedures.
Dire warning
Fourteen months before the January pylon collapse, a dire warning was given about the state of the pylons by the former head of the Department of Electricity and Energy, Tholi Biyela. His report also spoke of the need to replace the ageing Sardinia Bay pylons with monopoles.
Municipal communications director Sithembiso Soyaya acknowledged public concern about ageing electricity infrastructure across the metro.
He said infrastructure planning had to be guided by verified engineering evidence.
“The municipality will rely on qualified technical expertise to determine the true condition of assets and will report on the state of infrastructure once formal assessments are completed. This ensures that decisions are grounded in facts and professional standards, rather than speculation,” he said.
“The municipality is currently undertaking structured, metro-wide technical assessments of the electricity network, designed to identify risk levels, prioritise interventions and build a clear picture of infrastructure condition across the system. Any elevated risk identified during inspections will trigger immediate intervention while longer-term planning continues.
“Once assessments are verified, the municipality will implement a structured programme that includes a short-, medium- and long-term refurbishment and renewal plan, integrated project sequencing based on engineering risk, and budget planning and funding alignment to support phased upgrades.”
/file/attachments/orphans/DSC_7293copy_609892.jpg "Latticework on this pylon, part of the 132kV line near Sardinia Bay, is almost rusted right through. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)")
The DA’s mayoral candidate for the 2026 local government elections, Retief Odendaal, said members of the DA’s Nelson Mandela Bay caucus would file a motion at council requesting:
- The immediate approval of the necessary budget amendments to complete the electricity monopole project;
- The appointment of an executive director of electricity and energy without delay;
- The secondment of an Eskom specialist through the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs for a period of three months to oversee and stabilise the electricity planning function; and
- The immediate submission of a fully costed turnaround plan for the electricity department and the urgent commissioning of an electrical services master plan to inform preventative and rehabilitative repair and maintenance programmes. DM