After months of complaints, mounting frustrations, and persistent efforts to bring tangible assistance to residents, Eskom will provide a walk-in help desk in Fourways.

This has been hailed as a quiet but meaningful victory, especially by Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy, who has long championed accessible customer service for residents of his ward.

Reddy recently invited residents to join the City of Joburg’s Revenue Services Department to resolve rebate process issues, billing concerns, and more.

The meeting was attended by various stakeholders, including Eskom, with which Reddy has had long-standing issues regarding constant power outages in his ward.

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“After the meeting, I got a few positive feedback from residents, saying how they appreciated everything and that they were so glad that Eskom was there to help them,” Reddy shared.

The success of the meeting also reignited calls for a permanent Eskom walk-in centre in the area. Reddy said this is a good idea, as he has seen a growing disconnect between customers and large service providers.

“A lot of people find Eskom to be faceless. Most people, especially our elderly, wish to speak to somebody to explain their problem, and the expectation is that the person they speak to needs to understand it and be able to assist them.”

Also read: Eskom struggles to keep lights on in Ward 93

He said the walk-in centre will help restore some of that human interaction. “You need to show your documents; you need them to understand, and [provide] a resolution. The most important thing I’ve learned about residents is the need to feel like they’ve been heard. And it validates the person.”

While no location for the walk-in centre has been finalised as yet, Reddy said accessibility will be a major factor during consideration.
“It has to be accessible to most people. And I’m going to say centralised. When the centre was in Rivonia and Morningside, it worked well for residents, because it was close by and centralised.”

Reddy said the ultimate decision about where exactly the walk-in centre will be lies with Eskom. “I would like to say thank you to Eskom for this. I’m very, very grateful. You know, it means our residents are going to be able to do their things a lot easier,” said Reddy.

Daphne Mokwena, Eskom’s spokesperson, was contacted for comment and will be published once available.

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