The City of Ekurhuleni fails to attend to a local’s complaint
After attempting to reach out for help from the City of Ekurhuleni regarding a power outage, Sakhumzi Zazaza had to use funds from his own pocket to get a private electrician to fix a power fault.
November 16 marked 23 days without power for a Sky City resident, Sakhumzi Zazaza.
The Alberton Record received a complaint from Zazaza about an electric fault that impacted him since October 25.
He sent a complaint to the Record on October 31 after not getting a direct response from the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE). The Record escalated his complaint to CoE’s energy department.
Zazaza said he reported the matter immediately after the power fault happened.
“Every time I called their call centre, they promised me someone would sort it out. What is stressing me the most is that I work virtually and have to beg my neighbours to connect my electric extension to enable me to work. All that while I am paying for electricity,” he told the Alberton Record.
No response
The Alberton Record has been constantly in touch with Zazaza, checking if the matter has been attended to.
The city recently commented on the queries sent by the Record. When the Record received a response from CoE on November 9, the city’s spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city had installed an electronic protective structure on the substation, which failed to open when city personnel went there.
They then requested experts to assist in opening the substation.
“The city responds within the timeframe outlined in the service level standard for outages, depending on the nature of an outage. Once we have gained access to the box, we will advise and repair the fault,” Dlamini said.
By November 16, the CoE has not yet reached out to Zazaza.
Zazaza paid an electrician to have the fault fixed on November 11. The fault was outside his property.
If he did not find an electrician himself, he would be 23 days without power.
The Record has sent another query for comment to the city regarding this matter.
