Residents of Aliwal North and Steynsburg in Walter Sisulu municipality brought Aliwal North to a standstill today‚ protesting against power cuts in the two areas.
The residents woke early and took to the streets of Aliwal North‚ blocking the N6 to Komani and two roads entering the town from Burgersdorp and Lady Grey.
In a telephonic interview with DispatchLIVE‚ community leader Bulelwa Dial said the residents of the two towns decided to close Aliwal North down to force the municipality pay Eskom.
Dial said the power cuts were as a result of the R115-million debt owed by Walter Sisulu municipality to Eskom.
“We don’t care how they pay it‚ all we want is electricity. Our things are rotting in our fridges and appliances are blowing because of the cuts‚” she said.
She said the residents owed Eskom nothing.
“The municipality owes Eskom‚ not us. We must not suffer for their mistake. We want them to resolve this and we want electricity back‚” Dial said.
by Tembile Sgqolana – Daily Dispatch