Gamalakhe residents protest against power outages
Residents said when they report the power outages to Eskom, they are told that their meter boxes are not registered.
Ambulances and vehicles going to the Gamalakhe Community Health Centre could not get to the facility on Tuesday and Friday last week, due to protest action in Gamalakhe.
Some residents of Ward 26 and 28 in Gamalakhe blockaded the road near kaDanca bus stop in protest against power outages in the area. These residents say they have not had electricity for over a month.
On Tuesday waste collection could not be done in Gamalakhe due to the protest. Buses and scholar transports could not leave or enter the township both on Tuesday and Friday.
One of the protesters told Fever on Tuesday that he had to now connect electricity illegally because his business was starting to suffer.
He said when they report the power outages to Eskom, they are told that their meter boxes are not registered.
“I have a fast food business and it is now struggling. These power outages affect us badly because children cannot study or do homework using a candle, it is just too risky. I even had to connect electricity illegally because I can see that my business is suffering,” he said.
He added that they are aware that connecting electricity illegally is against the law but they are now forced to do so since they have been without electricity for weeks.
Also, he said when they report the matter to the Ward 28 councillor, he is nowhere to be found.
Speaking to Fever, Ward 28 councillor, Bekithemba Zulu, said the power utility cut off electricity in his ward and Ward 26 because a number of households were using unregistered electricity meters.
“Eskom said it cut off power because there are transformers in these two wards that are failing to manage the number of people are who using the power in this area. It added that there are a number of households that are not known to Eskom who are now using those transformers meaning that they have not registered their meter boxes. Eskom also said the transformer could collapse or burn out at any time,” said Zulu.
He added that the power utility said it will cut off power while it does its audit to check for the homes that have unregistered meters.
Zulu said the audit started on Tuesday and will last for seven days.
“Now the problem is that residents want Eskom to restore electricity while it does its audit but Eskom says it will not switch on power until it has completed its audit,” said Zulu.
Comment from Eskom had not been received at the time of going to press.
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