Residents of Nellmapius in Tshwane are worried that they could stay in the dark for longer after their electricity supply was affected by recent downpours.
Two parts of the township, Nellpmapius extension 2 and 3, near Mamelodi, east of Pretoria want their electricity restored without any further delays.
On Friday, residents marched in Waltloo to demand that the City of Tshwane must restore supply which went off a week ago.
They called for the city to remove the electrical cable from the ground which they said was a wetland.
City officials have been working on site since the beginning of the week.
An angry resident Alfred Sibanyoni, 59, told SowetanLIVE: “I got my bonuses and I bought R1,000 meat for the festive season and now I had to throw it away because it was rotten and I gave some of it to homeless people. I wasted my money.”
He said residents have submitted petitions to the city's electricity department but their grievances fell on deaf ears.
“Our cables are in a muddy place and since Monday, officials told us that they are busy fix it until today
“I won't tolerate that. They are sitting in their offices not experiencing what we experiencing and we are buying take aways all the time when instead we should safe money,” said Sibanyoni.
Another resident Rosina Sebokela, 50 said: “I'm very happy that I got my RDP house and thank the government but I'm disappointed that since I started living here in early 1998, the problem of electricity has always been there.”
Sebokela said she has voted many times in the municipal election hoping for better services.
She said she don't think the City of Tshwane is taking the matter serious. adding that her electrical appliances were damaged due to the power outages.
Former councillor Thabo Ntlatleng said he inherited this problem and when he was appointed as ward councillor in 2016 residents were experiencing the same problems and he tried by all mean to fixe it but could not.
In 2017, residents submitted a petition to have cables removed from the wetland but nothing was done, he said.
He said he raised the issues at regional council forum and was told that they are waiting for the budget from utility services department and that R21m is needed for he project.
“I had sleepless nights when I was a councillor and I was insulted many times. Sometimes, my life was at risk because the community was angry at me when there was power outage,” said Ntlatleng.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo had not responded to Sowetan's questions at the time of publication.
Nellmapius residents march over weeklong power outage
Image: Dimakatso Modipa
Residents of Nellmapius in Tshwane are worried that they could stay in the dark for longer after their electricity supply was affected by recent downpours.
Two parts of the township, Nellpmapius extension 2 and 3, near Mamelodi, east of Pretoria want their electricity restored without any further delays.
On Friday, residents marched in Waltloo to demand that the City of Tshwane must restore supply which went off a week ago.
They called for the city to remove the electrical cable from the ground which they said was a wetland.
City officials have been working on site since the beginning of the week.
An angry resident Alfred Sibanyoni, 59, told SowetanLIVE: “I got my bonuses and I bought R1,000 meat for the festive season and now I had to throw it away because it was rotten and I gave some of it to homeless people. I wasted my money.”
He said residents have submitted petitions to the city's electricity department but their grievances fell on deaf ears.
“Our cables are in a muddy place and since Monday, officials told us that they are busy fix it until today
“I won't tolerate that. They are sitting in their offices not experiencing what we experiencing and we are buying take aways all the time when instead we should safe money,” said Sibanyoni.
Another resident Rosina Sebokela, 50 said: “I'm very happy that I got my RDP house and thank the government but I'm disappointed that since I started living here in early 1998, the problem of electricity has always been there.”
Sebokela said she has voted many times in the municipal election hoping for better services.
She said she don't think the City of Tshwane is taking the matter serious. adding that her electrical appliances were damaged due to the power outages.
Former councillor Thabo Ntlatleng said he inherited this problem and when he was appointed as ward councillor in 2016 residents were experiencing the same problems and he tried by all mean to fixe it but could not.
In 2017, residents submitted a petition to have cables removed from the wetland but nothing was done, he said.
He said he raised the issues at regional council forum and was told that they are waiting for the budget from utility services department and that R21m is needed for he project.
“I had sleepless nights when I was a councillor and I was insulted many times. Sometimes, my life was at risk because the community was angry at me when there was power outage,” said Ntlatleng.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo had not responded to Sowetan's questions at the time of publication.
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