Disconnection of electricity in town done illegally

LYDENBURG – It seems the council is once again on an electricity cut-off rampage.

Several residents and businesses in town faced illegal power cuts last week. Prominent business owner, Mr Abdul Gafar was one of the residents affected and had to obtain legal assistance to have the power reconnected.

“On Friday, Mr Mike Mashilo, revenue manager of Thaba Chweu Municipality (TCM), accompanied by an electrician and a member of the traffic department, arrived at my home. They gave me a notice which appeared to be for the discontinuance of the supply and they immediately continued to cut it.”

According to Gafar, he had negotiated a settlement for money owing to TCM. “I made payment in accordance with this settlement. This was for the arrears as well as the current account. I protested as this was a breach of our contract with the municipality.”

Not only did TCM disregard this settlement, but the disconnection was done prematurely.

Mr Derick Harold, a local attorney representing Gafar, told the newspaper that these disconnections were done illegally. “Residents and businesses have until the seventh of each month to settle their accounts before notice can be served. Even then, consumers have 14 days to dispute the account, make arrangements for payment or pay the full outstanding amount. Residents have to be aware of the fact that these disconnections are done illegally.”

Harold has the ruling of the Constitutional Court in his possession whereby it states that a municipality has to give residents a 14-day notice of cut-off, and that it may not disconnect when a valid complaint has been logged. By ignoring this order, the town faces charges of contempt of court. Residents facing similar problems should contact Harold Attorneys for court orders in this regard.

According to the Know Your Rights’ website, the disconnection is unlawful. Legal assistance in securing urgent reconnection should be sought if you are unable to secure reconnection after you have exhausted all reasonable attempts to negotiate with the municipality.

Several other businesses, including that of Hyundai were also disconnected, which was confirmed by the manager, Mr Hein Viljoen. The owner of the premises, Mr Eugene Gouws, had also apparently had to gain legal assistance to have the power reconnected. Viljoen confirmed that it had since been restored.

These apparent illegal disconnections were performed by TCM officials and not the regular service provider, Full Output.

Mashilo replied that he was not allowed to talk to the media and that queries should be forwarded to the communications department.

At the time of going to print, TCM had failed to respond to the questions posted.