Weeks of darkness end at library, clinic in Umkomaas
Clr Ndlovu said Umkomaas residents deserve a functioning municipality that delivers basic services.
After more than two weeks of darkness at community facilities in Umkomaas, eThekwini Municipality confirmed on September 14 that power has finally been restored at the Umkomaas public library and clinic.
The matter was raised by Councillor Thabani Ndlovu – the DA Ward 99 PR councillor – who formally wrote to the city manager Musa Mbhele, calling for urgent intervention.
Ndlovu said the outage was reportedly linked to the city’s failure to pay the electricity accounts for these essential public facilities to Eskom, resulting in the electricity being disconnected.
“A library and a clinic provide critical services to the community and cannot be allowed to operate without power for weeks on end,” he said.
“Learners who rely on the library for studying and residents seeking healthcare at the clinic were directly affected by this failure.”
Senzelwe Mzila, the eThekwini Municipality marketing and communications spokesperson, confirmed the electricity supply restoration on Monday this week.
“The municipality apologises for any inconvenience caused during the outage. The area is supplied directly by Eskom, and the municipality has been able to resolve the issue that resulted in the interruption of the electricity supply,” said Mzila.
Commenting on the matter, Ndlovu stated that Umkomaas residents deserve a functioning municipality that delivers basic services, and not one that allows essential community facilities to remain without electricity for weeks.
He also further requested an investigation for the initial disconnection.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
