The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been inundated with calls from concerned residents of Kempton Park wanting to know when their power will be restored.
Residents have been without power since Saturday morning 03h00 when a substation in the area exploded. An official at the City of Ekurhuleni said the cause is cable theft. However, I have been reliably informed that this explosion occurred mainly due to a lack of maintenance.
We were initially told that the power would be restored by 6pm last night then 10pm but this morning there is still no power. Rumours amongst officials are that power will only be restored by next week.
This is unacceptable as businesses which are operating in an already constrained economy are now not able to open their doors and are losing revenue. Part-time staff at various retailers were told not to come in to work until the power is restored.
Furthermore, food is beginning to rot for many affected residents which means they will be forced to throw it away. Children who are busy writing exams cannot study in the evenings. residents who are on frail care are also suffering – their lives are at risk. Robots in the area don’t work cause traffic during peak hours.
In the City of Joburg, Roodepoort was without power and DA Mayor Herman Mashaba rented a mobile substation (generator) from Rustenburg to provide the area with power.
I have called Mayor Mzwandile Masina to ask for the same intervention, but I’m yet to receive a response from him.