This article was written by our eMbalenhle correspondent: Sandile Mkhwanazi
Unrest threatens as dissatisfied eMbalenhle community members are now fed up with the ridiculous power cuts happening during the Lockdown.
Different stakeholders from the eMbalenhle community have started to speak up on all social media saying that they are now tired of the whole administration of Govan Mbeki Municipality and demand that the National Government intervene.
When the President of South Africa announced the National Lockdown, he promised that there would be no load shedding. Eskom’s CEO said in a statement that there will be no load shedding during the Lockdown.
It is now day 35 of the National Lockdown and there has not been a single day in eMbalenhle where the community has not experienced power cuts.
From 27 March to date, every morning around 07h20 the power is cut until late in the evening. That is the biggest reason why the community does not adhere to the rules that were set out the by government.
“We have to go to shops almost every day to buy food because in our fridges we can’t store food. There is always no power,” said some of eMbalenhle’s residents.
What is even more devastating is that the township has apparently been divided into two categories; the holy places such as extension 04, 05, 09, 12 who never experience power cuts and then extensions 26, 11, 02, 15, 16, 22, 14 as well as Gate 7 and 8 who are always victims of the power cuts.
“What is even more shocking is that when we contact the municipality Call Centre to enquire about electricity, is the bad attitude we get from employees. Once you state that you stay at Welas they tell you how useless you are and nothing you’ll do,” said a few residents.
eMbalenhle residents were shocked on the morning of 29 March, when the Municipal Manager, Mr Simon Felani Mndebele, spoke on a national radio station giving the inaccurate information and making the wrong impression that things were going well in Govan Mbeki Municipality.
When the truth is that the situation is disastrous.
When The Bulletin contacted the call centre we were told that the community had exceeded their monthly demand.
There have been several open letters written to the President through social media, be it Facebook and Twitter and he is yet to answer…
If this continues there might be unrest in eMbalenhle very soon and that will contradict the Covid-19 regulations. – Sandile Mkhwanazi
