Zelda Venter
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria was closed on Tuesday due to a power outage in the city.
The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) confirmed that the court will temporarily cease operations due to a power outage in the Tshwane CBD affecting the court. The court’s generator is currently also out of commission.
The OCJ said affected parties will be contacted regarding alternative arrangements. Meanwhile, the city said the continuous rain has led to delays in attending to power outages in most parts of the seven regions of Tshwane.
The City, meanwhile, said it was aware of the power outages in parts of the CBD but explained that a transformer had tripped at the Boom Street substation.
It explained that its technicians are overstretched due to the size of the network that they need to cover and the number of outages over the past few hours.
“This has resulted in a massive restoration backlog, which is exacerbated by the need to prioritise the safety of our technicians, who are not allowed to work on the network during wet and rainy conditions, including for pipe bursts that require welding,” the City said.
The high court in Pretoria is the second high court in Gauteng that has had to close its doors for business within a week. Operations were also halted at the high court in Johannesburg on Thursday following a water shortage. This was after Rand Water warned residents to use water sparingly due to a dry spell.
The city of Tshwane has, meanwhile, also urged its residents to use water sparingly ahead of the implementation of level two water restrictions.
Gauteng is currently in the midst of a water crisis, of which the city has continuously warned residents about since last year. Rand Water has stated that its reserve levels have decreased considerably, and Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities are the biggest contributors to the declining reserve levels.
“If we do not begin to take our collective responsibility to use water sparingly seriously, we risk jeopardising the stability of the water system,” the city warned.
Rand Water has tracked the water consumption levels in Tshwane and warned that for January this year, residents have continuously consumed more water than the recommended threshold.
“We have consumed more than 752 Ml per day for January and into February. Our consumption recorded on February 3 was 853 Ml per day,” the city said.
The highest consuming reservoirs in Tshwane are Akasia Park Reservoir, Koedoesnek Reservoir, The Reeds Reservoir, and Wonderboom Reservoir.
If water consumption is not controlled, the city will have to implement level two water restrictions, which means that water will be restricted and rationed for several hours across Tshwane to force reasonable levels of water use.
The change of restriction levels will also be accompanied by financial implications for consumers due to the associated changes in water tariffs.
The city said it pleads with residents to continue to preserve water, as Tshwane and Gauteng are experiencing water shortages. We are currently at level one water restrictions.
It urged residents not to use water or irrigate gardens with a hosepipe or sprinkler system between five in the morning and six in the afternoon. Hosepipes should also not be used to clean cars, and swimming pools and water features must not be topped up.