Some residents and businesses in Rustenburg in the North West were plunged into darkness for several days as the Local Municipality battled to restore electricity to affected communities on time.
Residents told Newsnote that they have lost confidence in the municipality after they were left in a state of chaos and uncertainty for several days.
In some areas, residents said the electricity went off at the weekend and was restored in the early hours of Wednesday.
Kgomotso Mosito, who runs a beauty salon in the CBC and makes about R900 or more a day, said she had to turn away all her clients due to the power cuts.
She believes that the outages were a sabotage to local businesses.
“Why did they allow the power cuts to happen now knowing that around the 25th of every month it gets very busy in Rustenburg.
“Now I didn’t work because the equipment I use to do my client’s nails and hair needs electricity. This municipality is failing us,” said Mosito.
She further said that she has lost hope in the municipality.
“Embarking on a protest will not benefit us as businesses and residents. The situation changes only for a few months, we don’t have to protest,” explained Mosito.
Some residents said they were forced to make alternative arrangements, to sustain their daily lives, buy purchasing generators, while those unfortunates, had to use firewood to cook and prepare kids for school.
One of the residents Lola Wessie who lives with her husband and two kids told Newsnote that life has not been easy.
She said she couldn’t prepare her kids for school and prepare a proper meal for her family.
“I spent about R250 daily on takeaways for myself, my husband and two kids. I think as South African citizens we are not angry enough. They put high tariffs on us, but we don’t get the services. I think it is time we unite as community members and demand services from the municipality,” remarked an angry Wessie.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Newsnote, the municipality spokesperson Andrew Seome attributed the widespread power outages to electricity infrastructure damages caused by recent heavy downpours.
“We are still recovering from the recent heavy rains that had a huge impact on the restoration of the power supply. Our technicians are busy with the repairs,” said Seome.
Residents said it has become a norm that power outages would last for more than 24hours, and at times the municipality would attribute this to cable theft and sabotage.
Meanwhile, an employee at the municipality’s electric unit, was recently arrested together with foreign nationals, for allegedly vandalising and stealing copper cables estimated to be R800 000 in Tsitsing village near Rustenburg.
Other parts of the city were still without electricity on Tuesday, despite Eskom’s announcement that it had suspended load shedding.