Local economy hit hard by power outages

Germiston residents and business owners blame the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) for losing business due to continuous electricity outages in the area.

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Business owners have been suffering by not making a profit and being forced to halt production because of power outages.

Residents pointed out that the CoE has been failing to maintain and safeguard the City’s electricity infrastructure to provide the quality of services they expect.

Martin Brits, Mosaic Funeral Group, manager from Victoria Street, is amongst the residents who voiced their concerns about the power outages.

He said since January he experienced blackouts at least twice a month, forcing him to find alternative ways.

“We are running a mortuary that needs 24-hour access to electricity,” said Brits.

“We have been without power since Monday, May 9. In March we were three weeks without power,” he told GCN on May 13.

“It is slowly becoming difficult to run a business in Germiston. We have a generator running but it costs us more than R3 000 a day,” said Brits.

“Recently I spent R25 000 replacing one of the cooling systems. The CoE does not give us anything positive feedback,” he said.

“Cable theft is also becoming a problem in this area. Water meters are no longer safe too. I lost two water meters in one week,” said Brits.

Still in Victoria Street, Mariah Netshithuthuni, Saint Marys Childcare Centre and Aftercare founder and Mary Ndlovu, the manager expressed their grievances.

Netshithuthuni said the power interruptions have been worse this year if compared to previous years.

“When I went to the City Customer Care Services offices in Germiston they told me the matter is being reported and it will be attended to,” said Netshithuthuni.

“Calling the CCC is not cheap, it costs us money every day to call. The City must find a way to deal with this crisis because soon no one would want to work in this area,” said Netshithuthuni.

Ndlovu, said they are forced to use a gas stove for cooking purposes and warming up her baby’s milk.

She said they are forced to conduct teaching and learning sessions in the dark and it is often cold inside the classes.

“To refill the gas stove has become expensive now because the prices have been going up. When a child needs a change of a nappy it becomes a challenge,” said Ndlovu.

“When we knock off work, the streets are dark because the street lights are not working. Some of them are chopped off. Our safety is at risk,” said Ndlovu.

The Germiston Full Gospel Church of God, at the corner of George and Leipoldt streets, has been without power for 26 days by the time of this interview.

Opposite the church is Laerskool Germiston Primary School which has suffered the same fate.

The school’s pre-school blocks have been without power and they are forced to conduct their daily duties in the dark.

Pastor Jeff Wilson, said a learner from the school was electrocuted a while back because a live wire was left unattended on the pavement outside the church.

“We had to throw away food that was in our freezer. We have received no assistance in resolving the issue from the municipality,” said Wilson.