This follows an oversight Gwamanda conducted on Monday the 24th of July 2023 alongside city manager Floyd Brink and some mayoral committee members.

On Wednesday the 19th of July 2023, one person was killed and almost 50 others were injured when an underground blast tore through Lilian Ngoyi Street, near the Bree taxi rank, causing massive damage to infrastructure and several vehicles, some with passengers inside and Gwamanda said it was important to ensure the area was declared safe before any restoration efforts.

“In as much as I have a burning desire to pre-empt outcomes of an investigation, I’m unable to at this point and I would like to see the city find a solution to this problem, so that we can restore the power and the water supply for our people," Gwamanda said.

Gwamanda furthermore said the accident was mainly a reaction from a combination of methane, oxygen and a spark.

"The problem we face, especially in the CBD, is manholes, there is their theft and vandalism, and we found that some of the entities had sealed them off and it creates immense pressure and when it catches a spark, these consequences happen," Gwamanda added.

Meanwhile, Brink alluded that it was difficult to send officials into an unsafe environment and requested residents to bear with the city as they tried to resolve the affected services.

“We are now clear on the approach that we are taking forward and might not be able to restore water and electricity at this point due to the fact that there are certain parts on this road that are not declared 100% safe,” he said.