Well done to electricity men
'We should be as quick to praise and reward such diligence and efficiency as we are to condemn the loutish criminality of the NUMSA rabble'
CA FARR of Bonaero Park writes:
It was a miserable weekend without power for many in Bonaero Park when the Aston Manor substation blew up.
It made one realise how much we rely on modern services. Some residents experienced greater inconvenience than others during the blackout.
A fortunate few families moved out and sought refuge with family or friends. Others had purchased portable power generators and so avoided much of the hassles.
The generosity of the human spirit was evident with some folk who had generators, assisting their neighbours with some warm meals. I was not one of those fortunates and bore the brunt of life without electricity. Being without radio or television gave me time to reflect that millions of our fellow South Africans live like that on a daily basis in squalid shanty towns with awful bucket toilets, without any sign of relief in the foreseeable future.
At least I could climb into a snug warm bed in formal shelter to escape the biting winter cold. It could be said that the worst of my inconvenience was having to shave in ice-cold water and do without warm meals for a few days.
Well done to the wonderful workers of the Ekurhuleni electricity department who selflessly worked day and night to restore power in only three days, after an initial estimate of at least five days, due to the extensive damage at the site.
What an enormous relief that was being able to enjoy a piping hot plate of soup. At present there are NUMSA rabble disgracefully causing much damage and violence during their strike. So its nice to know the country still has conscientious workers like ours in the Ekurhuleni Electricity Department.
We should be as quick to praise and reward such diligence and efficiency as we are to condemn the loutish criminality of the NUMSA rabble. I have only one slight reservation and a suggestion to Ekurhuleni Council. They claimed that they kept residents continually updated on progress of the repair work. Wrong! Perhaps they kept the media continually informed, but that doesn’t help residents who didn’t have access to radio or TV due to the electricity discontinuance. Therefore I reiterate my previous suggestion in a correspondence to Express. Its not rocket science to develop an SMS advisory system for use in urban emergency situations. Most people have cell phones which remain charged during power disruptions.
That relatively minor power outage should provide lessons to Ekurhuleni Metro on how to optimise communication services in the event of a major urban disaster where, especially, elderly and infirm people could be without electricity and water for much longer periods.
