EVATON – For Evaton residents, the issue of not having electricity is not about being deprived of a basic need; it is about survival. Residents expressed their struggle to keep their heads above water due to the daily challenges they face, living without electricity for almost a decade.

On a recent oversight by the DA’s Emfuleni North Constituency Head, Kingsol Chabalala MPL, accompaninied by fellow members Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Nico de Jager MPL, Emfuleni North Constituency Deputy Head Motseki Hlalele and Emfuleni Ward Councillor Isaac Motloung .

Speaking to Ster North, Muzi Ngwenya (44) says his family has lost rental income because tenants have left. “We spend a lot of money filling up our gas cylinder. My mother is on treatment, her medicine has to be kept in the refrigerator. I travel a long distance to get to another family that helps us store the meds. No one engages us about the electricity issue.”

Pensioners Anna Seitshiro(87) and Margaret Moroke (85), who live separately in a shared residence, say that they fear for their lives as they have become targets of criminals because of the darkness that occurs in the area at night.

“We hardly get any sleep because we have become targets of crime. Life has been so difficult without electricity. Sometimes the food we eat goes off and we get sick from consuming it.”

The pensioners expressed frustration about the costs of using paraffin and gas for cooking, stating that their grant does not last due to the expenses they incur. The lack of electricity is also affecting businesses and learners who can’t study at night and compete for jobs when they don’t have access to electricity.

De Jager said that the lack of electricity in Evaton is taking away the dignity of residents and taking away a life that was promised post democracy. He sated that the matter needs to be treated with urgent intervention.

Chabalala states that these are first-hand accounts from citizens who, he says, are being denied access to what he describes as a fundamental right. According to Chabalala, these stories illustrate issues the DA has brought up through its councillors in Emfuleni and members in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. He adds that the situation also mirrors a petition submitted to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), for which he says recommendations have not yet been implemented by the Lesufi-led government.

Chabalala said it is unacceptable, adding that Evaton needs transformers and cables as they have been stripped. The DA stated it is considering bringing a motion for debate in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature about the failure, as perceived by the party, to electrify townships and urban areas that have experienced years without electricity.