EMFULENI.- Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Kingsol Chabalala says this comes after they were made aware that the lack of electricity is a big crisis, as some of the areas have been without electricity for years due to faulty Eskom transformers.

Speaking to North Ster recently, Chabalala said they were hosting weekly meetings with affected members of the community and urging them to sign the petition in order for the electricity problems to be resolved.

“The turnaround time in fixing damaged transformers in our communities is taking too long. This occurs in places that get their power supply from Eskom as well as those who are supplied by the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM).

“This has resulted in the frustration of many residents who have been left without power in their respective areas, sometimes for years on end.”

Chabalala said that the lack of power supply led to the detriment of many businesses and also negatively affects school children and the elderly.

“The aim is to get about 20 000 signatures from residents.

“The petition will then be submitted to the National Council of Provinces as we would like their representatives to come down and see how people are suffering in Emfuleni.”

Chabalala said during meetings, they also urge members to seize with illegal connections, as this is one of the causes of damaged transformers.

“We urge the community to also stop protesting and blocking our roads, as this affects motorists and also affects the taxi industry negatively.

“We condemn illegal protests and damage to essential infrastructure.

“The community must also realise that illegal connections overburden our infrastructure and also result in the damage that we see today,” concluded Chabalala.