The electricity to households in four streets at Station Hill has been restored – this after residents had endured four weeks without power, thanks to cable thieves hitting the sub-station in Kivido Street.
At least three residents told Talk of the Town on a visit to the area that they were relieved – as were all the affected communities – with Ndlambe Municipality’s intervention to get the problem resolved.
Frustrated residents took to the streets in protest at the long power cuts more than two weeks previousy, barricading roads with burning tyres at a main intersection to the suburb to voice their displeasure. The municipality moved swiftly to fence off the substation in Kivido Road to protect it from theft. They were followed by Eskom’s electricians who reconnected the stripped cables that restored power to the affected areas.
Residents in Booysens, Ford, Dickerson and Bathurst Road in Station Hill were affected by the power outage.
Ndlambe Municipality Mayor Khuluwa Ncamiso had intervened when the protests broke out and upon hearing about the crisis convened a meeting with angry residents at the site promising to fence in the problem substation.
Eskom officials reportedly said at the time they would only begin repair work if and when the substation perimeter had been fenced in. Ndlambe Municipality communications spokesmperson TK Mtiki said although the substation was Eskom’s property, the mayor had promised that the municipality would address the fencing issue because she was aware of the urgency of the matter.
Mtiki said Ndlambe’s contractors had arrived at the site “almost immediately” and finished up the fencing of the project the same weekend.
The fencing on two parallel sides of the substation still have to be erected but Mtiki could not comment further except to say that Eskom was “quite satisfied” with the fencing as it stood hence the repair work undertaken to restore power to the affected parts of the suburb.
An resident at the forefront of the battle to get electricity restored said they were happy with the outcome following their request to the municipality.
“We are really relieved … we were more than three weeks without electricity … you just can’t be without electricity for that long. And we can go back to doing our domestic chores properly now,” said the resident who asked to remain anonymous.
“We are very thankful and I have personally thanked the mayor for stepping in to do something about our situation and her prompt reaction. We are thankful to Eskom and have asked the mayor to convey our thanks to them.”
The resident said they had brought together a concerned residents group that will continue taking up any urgent matters that impacted the community with the municipality. “And we are also patrolling the area to help safeguard the substation.”
Infrastructure deteriorated
The concerned resident said however that still many things had to be done to improve Station Hill’s infrastructure.
“Just look at our street … the gravel road has been like that since people first moved here more than 40 years ago. Many of the streets are like that in our area. There is not enough space for two cars to proceed safely. We have also asked the municipality to cut the bushes at the bottom of the intersection where criminals sit and plan whatever they do. Some of our streets don’t have street lights or proper street lighting and it’s dangerous to walk to the shops at night.”
She said that the municipality had started paving roads in the suburb but it was only confined to certain streets in the area. “Why don’t they [municipality] begin a budgeted project to pave the entire Station Hill suburb over a few years? We could have had these roads finished long ago.”
Another elderly resident in Ford Road said that Eskom technicians had restored the electricity to her home finally the previous day. An overhead wire is connected to the pole that feeds electricity to her home – as is the case with many others in the suburb.
“I’m so relieved I went six weeks without electricity and I could do my washing today and cook for the family.”
She pointed up to an overhead cable connected to her roof where cable thieves had cut wires and stripped it for the copper.
“It’s the drug addicts who do this … I am still full of anxiety because though I am relieved, I have to look out for these criminals every night and I can’t sleep properly. But I am thankful to Eskom and the municipality for listening to us.”
Mtiki said the municipality was happy that the power had been restored to the affected areas.
“The municipality’s contractor responded immediately after the meeting with the affected residents. “We managed to source the [tamper proof] fencing and began the work of putting it up immediately afterwards,” he said.
When asked why two parallel sides of the fencing [on the sides] had not been completed, Mtiki said: “The fencing should meet the standards now because Eskom said they would only restore power once the fencing had been erected … and they have done so. Eskom said they could not come and fix up cabling each time there was a theft incident.
Mtiki said the municipality encouraged the local community to ensure the substation was not vandalised and to prevent further damage or theft at the facility.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, July 25, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
