The fire at the Waltloo Substation, the damage to the Njala Infeed Station and the Tshwane Metro’s decision to implement load reduction are not coincidental technical incidents. They are the foreseeable consequences of years of neglect, a shortage of skilled tradesmen and an administration that chooses to ignore warning signs until the lights go out.
Njala is crucial for Tshwane’s bulk power supply. When it loses transformer capacity, the Metro has to ration electricity between wards to prevent overloading. And that is not planning – it is crisis management. The introduction of load reduction and targeted load shedding confirms that the capital city’s power grid is no longer stable.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) had warned back in May already that the grid is gradually collapsing.
Tshwane operates 55 substations of 132 kV, but at the time had only 26 qualified technicians authorised to work on the high-voltage network – that is not even one for every two substations. The resolution rate for power faults had dropped to 37%, with more than 12 000 requests outstanding for longer than 90 days.
An official report dated 1 June 2026 warned that the network runs a high risk of widespread outages and blackouts should a primary transformer fail. That warning has now become a reality.
The Waltloo fire has already had a domino effect: Numerous areas supplied by primary substations – including Waltloo, Wingate, Heatherley, Mooikloof, Wapadrand, Scientia, Highlands, Willows, Lynnwood, Villieria, Koedoespoort, Pumulani, Pyramid and parts of Mamelodi – have been plunged into darkness.
The Freedom Front Plus demands immediate action:
- Independent assessment by an engineer: a comprehensive, transparent audit of the power network – not an internal report that can be swept under the rug.
- Private expertise: external high-voltage specialises should immediately be deployed to repair faults and plan safe backfeed.
- Tradesmen over managers: appointments based on merit. So, fewer “bosses” and more electricians who are qualified to repair substations.
- Communities and the private sector: where the Metro fails, civic organisations and businesses should be part of the solution. Solar power and microgrids should be encouraged.
- Honest communication: residents deserve continuous, hour-by-hour feedback on repair plans and load-reduction schedules.
On 4 November, voters have the opportunity to decide whether Pretoria will be a city with functioning substations, competent technicians and value for taxpayers’ money. This is the time for change.
Freedom Front Plus Political Position: It is a right-wing political party.
Blistered Outlaw
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”
tweety bun bun
Padkos – food for the journey [putt-koss] Food that you will pack and take on the road – some sandwiches, drinks, chips, fruit and biltong and you have your padkos!