Tedstoneville residents demand answers for neverending power failures

The residents of Tedstoneville are fuming over prolonged electricity outage disruptions and worried if this problem keeps happening; what is the solution?

They had to sit without power for over 13 days, with complaints mounting that the municipality failed to address the issue effectively.

“We are in exam season and approaching the festive season. Learners are writing their final exams and are studying under candlelight. Families grapple with the daily struggle of life without power.

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“Frustrations have reached a boiling point. If the city is failing us now, we are worried about December,” said Sandra Ludik.

Before they restored the power last week Thursday, residents were told the city had no diesel for trucks, and could not come onsite to attend to the power issue.

“We keep receiving different excuses all the time. When they do eventually come onsite, they don’t have all the material. They still need to order it and that alone takes time,” said Ludik.

The city did a temporary fix as they don’t have all the parts for the residents to have power.

“This is a second temporal fix in our area. These temporal fixes are a problem because we get accused of tampering with the cable when people from energy have done the job, but take forever to return and properly fix the problem,” said Ludik.

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David Maarohanye said the city is failing residents and service delivery has become a distant dream.

“We pay our taxes and rates on time because failing to do so they will be quick to switch off your power. But when they have to attend to power outages, it takes forever,” said Maarohanye.

He said the reporting and getting reference numbers is also a waste of time and residents’ airtime.

“You wait over 30 minutes over the phone trying to report and get a reference number. Also, reference numbers get closed before the problem is fixed, leading to residents having to report the problem all over again.

How is that possible?” asked Maarohanye. He said electricity issues have a ripple effect on residents’ lives.

“This is unacceptable. Our children are writing their matric exams, which will determine their future. How can they prepare when they are forced to study in the dark?

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“We cannot cook or do laundry. Some people are working from home. The municipality is playing with our lives,” Maarohanye.

Attempts to engage with Clr Motloung Tsotang have yielded no results. According to residents, the councillor is never available and some residents don’t know who the councillor is because they have never properly introduced themselves.

“This excuse about no diesel is insulting. We pay our rates and taxes, yet they cannot afford to keep trucks running?

What are they doing with our money?,” asked Ludik.

The electricity issue in Tedstoneville has been boiling for a while. A few weeks ago residents took to the streets and expressed frustration with burning tyres.

“We need accountability and transparency in municipal governance. We cannot be begging for services and have to burn tyres to be taken seriously because to speak to them is not enough,” said Ludik.

Germiston City News sent questions to the MMC of Energy Mzayifani Ngwenya. He acknowledged the questions and promised to respond. At the time of going to print, no comment was received.