Municipality faces backlash as residents protest ongoing power outages, highlighting the struggles of families and businesses affected by the disruptions. Due to the delay in fixing the electricity issues, residents took to the streets in protest.
In a statement today, the KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM) said it deeply regretted the ongoing power outages that had disrupted the southern network since Monday.
“We understand the significant inconvenience and frustration that these outages have caused to families, businesses, and the larger community. Our communities deserve reliable service, and that’s why our teams have been around the clock to ensure that they restore power as quickly as they could,” said the KDM.
The areas affected are Shakashead, Imbonini Industrial Park, Umhlali, Compensation inland, Umhlali farms, Simbithi, parts of Salt Rock and Ballito, Thomson Bay, Shakaskraal, Shayamoya, Nkobong, Etete, Glendale, Palm Lakes, Sheffield, Salt Rock, Foxhill, P228 Flag Farm Road, and surrounding areas.
Due to the delay in fixing the electricity issues, residents of Shakashead took to the streets this week in protest, hoping their plight would be heard.
Davesna Subramunier, an assistant financial manager, who lives in Manor Estate, said she saw the protest as Shakashead was down the road from her home.
“It makes sense why the protest happened. We have had no electricity since Monday afternoon. Residents are frustrated and the on-going electricity issues without a clear conclusion is making it worse. The protest broke on Tuesday and carried on until Wednesday. The protesters started fires and stoned vehicles that were driving by. It was a bad scene. Security vehicles had to close the roads,” said Subramunier.
She said the municipality had said there were faults that they were trying to fix but in the meantime, many businesses and homes were struggling.
“We still have no electricity and it’s worse for my husband who works from home. He is fully-remote as a software developer. We have had to keep commuting to Tongaat to our parents' homes in order to work, eat and to see to the needs of our two-year-old daughter,” said Subramunier.
“We also had to throw away everything from our fridge because it had gone bad. We can’t function at home at all. We are also worried about our appliances when the electricity comes back. There could be a power surge.
“Going back and forth between Tongaat and home is becoming costly with the price of petrol, we cannot continue. Safety is also an issue. When there are no lights on, we sit in darkness and it is scary,” said Subramunier.