Water, Power & Tender Networks with Cilliers Brink. Is Tshwane Falling Apart

Описание: South Africa’s cities are collapsing and Tshwane (Pretoria) is the warning sign.

Former DA mayor Cilliers Brink breaks down why Rooiwal became a single point of failure, why blacklisting Edwin Sodi / Blackhead Consulting has mysteriously stalled, and why the city’s power network is now at risk of repeat substation fires and prolonged outages.

This is not “bad luck” — it’s budgets, incentives, and governance choices. And with the 2026 local elections approaching, Tshwane could become the ultimate referendum on service delivery vs patronage.

IN THIS EPISODE THEY COVER
• Why collapsing metros wreck investment, morale, and SA’s reputation
• Rapid urbanisation + shrinking tax base: why cities buckle
• Rooiwal: 70–75% of Tshwane wastewater through one plant (single failure point)
• How delays turned Rooiwal into a disaster and why upgrades keep failing
• The Blackhead / Edwin Sodi tender: why “tenderpreneurs” win and communities lose
• The stalled blacklisting process and why the excuses don’t add up
• Substation fires: maintenance failures vs “rainfall” excuses
• The R777 million tanker spend and the patronage incentive problem
• Labour court battles, wage decisions, and why Tshwane is “underwater” by R1.5bn claim
• Corruption networks: how “the invisible hand” works and where to start fixing it
• 2026 election dynamics: by-election protest votes, FF+ pressure, and DA infighting risk

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Chapters:

00:50 Guest intro: Cilliers Brink
01:15 SA cities falling behind other African metros
02:28 Tshwane’s two crises: water + power
02:52 Rooiwal explained: single point of failure
03:49 Urbanisation: more people, broken systems
04:25 Rooiwal scale: most wastewater flows through it
05:10 Upgrades delayed → costs explode
05:35 Pollution fallout: farms + downstream damage
06:05 Sodi/Blackhead tender network unpacked
06:38 Why the contractor walked off site
07:00 The key tool: blacklisting service providers
07:35 Why blacklisting stalled (and who benefits)
08:18 “WhatsApp access” claim + contradictions
09:05 Substation fires: “rainfall” excuse vs reality
10:40 20 years of maintenance neglect
11:45 Budgets: tankers/security vs fixing assets
12:30 Why substations blow up (simple maintenance)
13:20 Transformer oil example: cheap fix vs catastrophe
14:45 What a real fix looks like (planned replacements)
15:20 Water tankers as patronage incentive
16:35 Labour court rulings + budget hole
17:25 R777m tanker spend: why it’s a jackpot
18:10 Informal settlements: demand up, tax base down
21:10 Housing solutions: Townlands-style approach
22:45 Trading services model: tariffs must maintain assets
24:05 Private partners: when it works
24:55 Brink’s mayoral run: “what’s your offer?”
26:05 Why coalitions collapse in Tshwane
26:45 2026 election: mandate vs chaos
27:25 DA strategy: law & order + metro police
28:10 How corruption networks operate
30:10 Where to start fixing it (top-down)
31:55 By-elections: FF+ protest vote
33:10 Why voters punish governing parties
35:15 Warning: DA infighting risk
36:20 Outro + live events promo