With solid plans in place, committed staff and a smart scheme to deal with loadshedding, Makana Municipality and the National Arts Festival are expecting a good two weeks for Grahamstown.
With solid plans in place, committed staff and a smart scheme to deal with loadshedding, Makana Municipality and the National Arts Festival are expecting a good two weeks for Grahamstown.
Sue Maclennan reports. It’s going to be load-shedding heaven for Grahamstown residents living in City 2 during the National Arts Festival, which opens on Thursday.
The bad news is it’s City 1 that will bear the brunt of Eskom’s scheduled power cuts for the 11 days that Grahamstown is on show for the 41st staging of the massive arts event.
That’s the deal the festival has struck with the power utility from the start of technical preparations on Monday 29 June to 16 July, when the National Schools Festival ends.
“Most of the festival venues fall within City 2,” Festival CEO, Tony Lankester, told Grocott’s Mail this week. “And for the 25% that don’t, we have generators.
“City 1 will experience its own usual loadshedding, plus City 2’s share.”
Joza and Rhini, which are served directly by Eskom, will experience normal loadshedding as per the schedules issued by the power utility.
Now for the bad news for City 2 residents.
Immediately after the Schools Festival (16 July) when there’s loadshedding, City 2 will get its share… plus City 1’s.
This will be the case for two weeks. Lankester says technical preparations are on schedule and ticket sales are going well, boosted by lots of first-time Festival-goers.
He thinks that at least some of that is thanks to their scooping international drawcard, Irish stand-up comedian, Dylan Moran.
Safety concerns
Eskom confirmed that they were part of the municipality's joint operations committee in order to monitor and respond to any electricity related issues on the network during the festival.
In a reply to questions from Grocott's Mail, Eskom's media desk for the Eastern Cape wrote:
"Eskom has given the Makana Local Municipality ‘technical advice’ on how to handle electricity challenges and the impact of load shedding during the upcoming National Arts Festival.
“We cannot tell the municipality what they must do but we can advise, as Grahamstown falls within their jurisdiction and they are better placed to give more information.
“We can confirm, though, that the municipality is an Eskom customer that re-distributes to its own customers within the town, including the National Arts Festival."
Lankester said that the special loadshedding arrangements are not just about avoiding the disappointment of a show being lost to darkness, there are also safety concerns.
“On any one evening we’ve got 10 000 people sitting watching shows in different venues. If the lights go out across town and we’ve suddenly got 10 000 frustrated people roaming the streets, it presents a risk.”
During the lead-up to the festival, Lankester has met once a week with representatives from the police, municipal departments, security companies and Rhodes University at the event’s Joint Operations Committee (JOC).
“During festival we will meet once a day to do risk assessment and planning,” he said.
Lankester emphasised that Makana Municipality was very supportive of the festival.
“The co-operation we receive from the people on the ground is second to none,” he said.
“I think everyone realises the value of the festival to the city.”
Plan B
Makana Municipality's Operations, Manager Likhaya Ngandi, who will serve as convenor of the municipality's internal festival committee over the next two weeks, says the city is ready for festival.
"We have already met several times as part of the Joint Operations Committee (JOC)," he said.
"Individual departments have submitted their festival action plans, and we are implementing them already."
He referred to teams currently working in the town to patch roads, trim trees and cut grass.
The rocks in the road at the top of Dr Jacob Zuma Drive, placed there by protesters, were removed yesterday (Thursday) morning following an alert by a member of the JOC, he said.
"Look, we can't guarantee that a pipe won't burst," he said.
"But all our departments will be on 24-hour standby during the festival."
Ngandi said municipal officials were inspecting every part of the city to identify problems that need to be urgently addressed.
"We're compiling a complaints list, redirecting the complaints and drawing up action plans so that we deal with the problems as they arise," he said.
Ngandi urged members of the public to tell officials about problems as soon as they notice them.
During normal hours, members of the public should call 46 603 6111.
After hours call the Fire Department at 046 603 6000.
"We use the Fire Department as an after-hours call centre because they're there 24/7," Ngandi explained.
"Also, they have the standby lists for every kind of fault including plumbers and electricians. He confirmed that there was an agreement with Eskom regarding loadshedding during the festival period and said that Eskom would give them advance warning of intended breaks in power.
Protests
Last year the South African Municipal Workers Union stage a strike throughout the festival, leaving many areas strewn with litter. Was the municipality expecting anything similar this year?
"National SALGA/ SAMWU negotiations start on Monday," Ngandi said.
"And we have a sense that a strike may be looming – but we have no official word."
SAMWU have the right to apply for a strike any time, he pointed out. "It just means we must have a Plan B."
Following protests in the past three weeks by Hlalani residents, he agreed that it was likely they were not yet finished.
"Look, these people are not happy," he said. "They know that if they hold protests during the Festival, people have to listen."
So it looks like festival will definitely survive Grahamstown – but will an already under pressure Makana survive the festival?
“I think everyone realises it’s a symbiosis. The festival and Grahamstown exist mutually, we help each other survive," Lankester said.
Power talk
The last time there was a city-wide blackout during festival, Lankester said, was 1994.
In November last year, after a five-year break, power utility Eskom brought back load-shedding to South Africa to manage the crisis of ageing power plants, diesel shortages and water shortages at hydro-electric plants.
Load-shedding areas
Grahamstown 1 – Rhodes, Military Base, Golf Course, Slaaikraal, Strowan Farm, Strowan Mine, Industrial Area, Prison, Tick Research, Mountain Drive, Brackendale farm, Salem Crossroads, Thomas Baines, Howieson's Poort & Settlers Pump Station, Cradock Heights, Somerset Heights, Ghost Town, Hooggenoeg, Vergenoeg, Scott's Farm, Kingswood, Hill 60, West Hill, Orsmond Area, Upper High, New and African streets.
Grahamstown 2 – Stones Hill, Belmont Area, Sunnyside, Fort England Area, CBD Area, Oatlands North, Oatlands South, Settlers Hospital, St Andrew's College, Fort England Hospital, VG High and Primary School, PJ Olivier School, Bottom of High, New and African streets.
