eMbalenhle family accuses municipality of mistreatment over electricity disconnection

The Khosa family from eMbalenhle has accused the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) of mistreating them after their electricity was disconnected earlier this year.

According to Aletha Khosa, municipal employees accused the family of illegally connecting their electricity supply in January and confiscated their supply cable.

“When we followed up with the municipality to find out how we could be reconnected, we were told to pay a fine of R6 700.

“We paid the fine, but the municipality never restored our electricity. Instead, we were told to buy a new cable and that the municipality’s energy department would reconnect us,” said Khosa.

She added that they bought a new cable and notified the municipality, but despite repeated promises from officials, they never reconnected the electricity.

“Later, we were told different stories — that our property is not a residential stand and that we should approach the municipality for clarity,” she said.

Khosa expressed disbelief at the municipality’s claims, saying her stand was registered in her name.

“We’ve been living in this place since 2015 and paying for municipal services. It is shocking that, all these years, they accepted our money and provided us with services like water and electricity on a property they now say isn’t residential,” said Khosa.

She added that the family had spent a lot of money building their house and felt they were being treated unfairly.

“If the municipality wants to remove us, they must provide us with a new house. I even went to the housing department, where I was shown on the municipal map that our stand is indeed correct.

“Someone is playing politics with our lives. Why did they take our money for reconnection if our stand is not registered? We want justice because we now live in fear that the municipality might evict us,” said Khosa.

Responding to the allegations, Donald Green, media liaison and content developer for the GMM, confirmed that there was an existing house and rental rooms on the property, but said there were no approved building plans or land use rights for the site.

“According to the energy section, the occupants had previously reported an electrical problem. Upon investigation, GMM officials found that the occupants had tampered with the electricity by bridging the connection. The municipal officials consequently cut off the electricity,” said Green.

He added that, according to the Human Settlement Department, there was no official allocation for the property and that the Property Section had no lease agreement on record.

“People living on the stand had also closed off part of a public passage and placed a shack on the road, claiming they had permission from the municipality. They have since agreed to remove it as they know it’s an illegal structure,” Green said.

Green further explained that both erven 326/26417 and 311/26417 have encroached onto a public passage.

“Upon further investigation, the energy department advised that the woman living on the property had tampered with the electricity meter.

“It is still unknown who initially connected them to water and electricity services, as the municipality never formally allocated the property to this family.

“There are also multiple transgressions and encroachments by other property owners in the surrounding area,” Green concluded.