FREQUENT power outages in the Umbilo and Glenwood areas have triggered a formal investigation by the eThekwini Municipality, following mounting complaints from frustrated residents and businesses who have been left in the dark — in some cases for more than 40 hours at a time.

City mayor, councillor Cyril Xaba, said that based on complaints received, a pattern has emerged which has led to the eThekwini Municipality being concerned “about potential sabotage of the area’s electricity infrastructure” in Umbilo and neighbouring areas. “Following concerns raised by members of the community, we have decided to launch an investigation,” said Xaba.

He tasked City Manager Musa Mbhele with shedding light on the situation by initiating a formal investigation and provide a comprehensive report. “We would like to assure all the residents that we will get to the bottom of this and if there is evidence of any wrongdoing, those responsible will be held to account,” added Xaba.

Ward 33 councillor, Fran Kristopher, said that numerous outages have hit the ward over this past month. Regarding the suspicions over infrastructure being compromised and acts of sabotage, Kristopher said: “We’ve seen a decline in cable theft, as our CPF and security teams have been working tirelessly, constantly monitoring the streets – they have even apprehended multiple perpetrators whilst in the act of cutting cables.

Also Read: North Beach residents battle ‘abnormal’ power outages

“The theory is contractors are coming into the area and tampering with supply, however this cannot be proven as no solid evidence pertaining has been brought to light. We also have a vast span of CCTV cameras across the ward, however the areas targeted are mainly along the lower Umbilo end and upper Umbilo, Carrington Heights and Glenmore areas.”

Areas that have been heavily affected by the outages include Bulwer and Glenwood. Kristopher said those can, however, be narrowed down to ageing infrastructure and lack of maintenance over the years. The most recent, which lasted over 40 hours, saw many households lose contents of monthly stocked fridges.

“This is detrimental to our livelihoods. I am pleased that the mayor is taking this matter seriously and has called for an investigation into these allegations, however, this was addressed earlier this year and no feedback was provided to findings to date,” added Kristopher.

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