Desperate residents of the embattled Townview community in Stanger addressed an open letter to KwaDukuza officials and the office of the presidency pleading with them to intervene over illegal power theft in their town. The letter was tabled at the recent KDM council meeting.

With new shacks mushrooming everywhere, clashes over electricity among the Townview residents and the informal settlement dwellers have reached boiling point, with desperate squatters making illegal connections on streetlights and in the process damaging electricity infrastructure.

KDM municipal technicians responded swiftly to the letter and the Courier’s queries and began removing the illegal electricity connections on Tuesday.

Townview resident Selvan Chetty said in the past few years the informal settlement has grown to approximately 1000 shacks and the newcomers were a huge concern because they wrestled for the limited resources with the locals.

Chetty said the illegal connections on streetlights damaged the lights and plunged the whole area into frequent darkness.

“The residents went to the municipality to complain about this and we received letters telling us the problem is being addressed. Many meetings took place with our ward councillor, Dolly Govender, Sibusiso Jali, the executive director of the electrical department and Bheki Mpanza, manager of electricity at KDM.

In our last meeting in April they promised us an action plan and feedback within seven working days, but that time has lapsed and they are eluding our questions and ignoring our cries for help,” said Chetty.

Chetty said previous efforts by the municipality to cut off illegal connections from the overhead power lines were met with violent protests and angry squatters reacted with hostility, burning tyres, tree trunks and barricading roads with rocks and broken bottles after illegal power connections were disrupted.

“Almost every afternoon they assemble in the hundreds and go to the electricity box at the corner of Fynn and Shepstone road and manually switch off the residents who are legally connected.

This brings the entire neighborhood into darkness. They broke the door to the mini substation so they have easy access to do as they please.

“We have reported this to the electricity department, however they have not done anything to remedy the situation,” he said.

Frustrated with frequent power cuts because of electricity theft, intimidation and a decrease in property values Chetty said the situation had become unbearable.

One resident told the Courier the power cuts sometimes lasted days, resulting in them throwing away food which had gone off and keeping night-long vigils in the fear of being robbed.

Chetty believes the underlying issue is formal housing, which when ready will lead to the other basic services being installed.

When the Courier visited the area, loose electricity cables could be seen running from the electricity meter boxes to some of the houses in the informal settlement.

Electricity losses through illegal connections and infrastructure related problems cost KDM municipality R94 million in the 2016/17 financial year.

Eskom has warned that electricity theft and the resultant energy losses by municipalities contribute to increased electricity tariffs. Also, households that have illegal connections have a greater tendency to abuse energy than those that buy.

IFP councillor Moosa Motala said his input to council was to give the land to the illegal dwellers and provide legal connections to the area while the DA’s councillor Madhun Sing agreed with Motala and said the solution in the long run was to have them legally connected and have smart meters installed.

According to some residents, the risks posed by the illegal connections increased during rainstorms and also caused other crimes.

KDM spokesperson Sipho Mkhize said illegal light connections were a major reason for most blackouts in the region because the grid became overburdened and the municipal technicians were met with hostility by the community when they attempted to clamp down on these connections.

Mkhize added that children appeared to be the most likely victims.

“Illegal light connections are a crime against ratepayers and a threat to communities because of the danger these exposed power cables pose, particularly to children in the informal settlement who have fallen victim to illegal electricity connections,” Mkize said.

Severe injuries and even deaths due to electrocution are common in shack communities.