VEREENIGING – Frustration boiled over in Leeuhof on Tuesday morning when residents, left without electricity for about a week, staged a protest outside the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s Duncanville Depot.

Residents initially blockaded the entrance to the depot before setting tyres alight, sending plumes of smoke into the air as they demanded urgent intervention from the municipality.

Ward councillor Prudence Hlanyane confirmed the outage and said while she does not support the burning of tyres, the community’s anger is understandable.

“The community needs answers,” Hlanyane said.

Residents described the impact of the prolonged power outage as severe. One woman told Vaalweekblad she was forced to throw away spoiled meat after days without refrigeration, while others said children have had to go to school without bathing.

Another resident claimed the community had taken matters into their own hands by raising approximately R2 000 to hire a TLB in an effort to locate the fault, after allegedly being informed by the municipality that no such machinery was available.

The protest also caused disruption in the surrounding area, with reports of minor accidents as motorists slowed down to observe the scene.

Attempts to obtain comment from the Emfuleni Local Municipality were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

This is a developing story.