Komani Park residents burnt tyres in front of the budget and treasury building in Owen Street on Wednesday after their area had been without power since Sunday.
The residents said they had resorted to burning tyres after receiving no communication from Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality about when the problem would be solved.
Komani Park resident Nkosinathi Vuntu said they had decided to strike as a last resort after receiving no assistance from their councillor, Zuko Mandile.
“We have had no electricity for four days. We tried to communicate with the mayor last night (Tuesday) but there was no response. We have come from her office now. She promised to come, but is nowhere to be found,” said Vuntu.
“We get no service in Komani Park. We have had this problem since last year, with power going on and off. Right now our food has rottdn and we have children that need to use electricity because they are studying online,” he added.
Fenathi Cekiso, another resident, said he was tired of empty promises. “We have been promised since last year that this will be solved. There is no warm water to wash. There is Covid-19, so how are we supposed to practise hygiene now?”
The power was restored to the area on the early hours of Thursday morning.
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, said there was no scheduled meeting with the mayor.
But when the residents went looking for the mayor, she was engaged in other council matters and the residents refused to meet with other municipal representatives, Kowa explained.
He said the area’s councillor, Mandile, was in constant communication with the affected residents and kept them abreast of all developments.
Mandile told The Rep that although he understood the frustration of the residents there had been efforts to fix the cable and he had been in communication with residents.
“On Tuesday a cable had been installed but unfortunately blew 15 minutes after being connected. We had to order another one which we waited for on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, New Vale residents held a community meeting on Tuesday after houses in the area had been without electricity since Friday.
According to residents, the area was left in the dark after an electricity pole caught fire.
“It often catches fire and we have to use soil to put it out. Unfortunately we could not switch it off this time,” said New Vale resident, Amanda Matinisi.
The residents said the problem was caused by illegal connections from the neighbouring Aloe T informal settlement.
Nomfundo Vunukwa of the New Vale interim community committee said they had been waiting for EMLM to come and cut the illegal connections.
“We reported the issue of the Aloe T connections to the mayor last year. They promised to come back in August. We have been going to the municipality since Friday, but are getting no assistance,” said Vunukwa.
She said the illegal connections had become hazardous.
“The poles burn next to people’s houses and the power goes off at any time. We have children here and we do not have electricity,” added Vunuka.
Liziwe Dyosi, another resident, said the connections had become a source of tension between the two communities.
“Our appliances have been damaged by the power tripping. The municipality promised to remove those connections but did not. We cannot remove them ourselves because we grew up with some of those people. Last year they almost killed someone who tried to disconnect the lines,” she said.
Dyosi said as a result of the connections, no one was buying electricity in the area now.
Kowa said illegal connections needed communities to work with the municipality.
“The municipality is aware of the problem. Meetings with the affected communities have been held and have not yielded the required results. Illegal connections are inherently unsafe and fires and damages to infrastructure are always possible. It is impossible for municipal officials to police all transformers at all times, we need the involvement of the community as these connections are done at community level.
“A meeting on Saturday last week with a delegation from Newvale was held and a draft plan of action was decided upon. Activities that were agreed upon include consultation with the affected communities and the involvement of SAPS,” said Kowa.
