Power and water outages takes its toll on residents

RESIDENTS of Nagina near Mariannhill are still in the dark about the ongoing electricity outages in the area.

Last week, the irate residents said the power was gone for six days.

The electricity outages are not the only issues residents are faced with as recently they were also without water for a month.

ALSO READ: Patience wears thin with constant Pinetown water outages

A resident who spoke to the Highway Mail and wished to remain anonymous said these ongoing outages are frustrating as they never know when the electricity will be restored.

“On two occasions, I had to throw away lots of rotten food from the fridge and freezer.

“The sad part is that no one is going to compensate us, we complained the last time and nothing was done,” said a frustrated resident.

According to the resident who has lived in the area for almost four decades, their problem started a few years ago.

“When we had this water problem, I was forced to fetch water from my daughter’s home in Pinetown as the water truck hardly came to our area. The water and electricity has been restored, but we don’t know how long it will last.

PR councillor for the area, Marlaine Nair said illegal electricity connections were rampant.

“There are criminals who are continuously stealing as well as burning the cables every time a repair is made. On other occasions, the electricity was restored for a brief period and subsequently went off and on several times lasting only a couple of hours,” said Nair.

The PR councillor cited the growth of an informal settlement, land grabs and the rise of illegal connections that have not been properly dealt with as leading to a volatile situation.

ALSO READ: Highway residents frustrated about prolonged power outages

“Ratepayers are left without electricity for days,” she said.

Nair requested Metro police and SAPS to deploy law enforcement to the area. She also urged the officers to investigate who the perpetrators are and to take action against them as innocent law abiding citizens are suffering.

She pleaded with the City to give immediate attention to the issue of electrifying the informal settlements or building proper housing and relocating the informal settlement

“The existing infrastructure will not support the growing informal settlements. The land invasion unit needs to be provided with the extra support and manpower in order to deal with land grabs in Nagina, thereby indirectly stopping the increase in cable theft and illegal connection,” said Nair.

She also asked for investigation into scrap dealers in the area who purchase copper from electrical cables.

On behalf of the Nagina residents, Nair appealed to the City to provide some sort of aid or reimbursement to those vulnerable residents who have lost food in these last six days.

Report illegal connections, says City

eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela mentioned that water supply challenges are linked to ongoing rehabilitation at Durban Heights Water Works situated in Reservoir Hills.

“This does not only affect Nagina but Umlazi, Verulam, Ntuzuma, Trenance Park, Nsimbini and Folweni.

According to Mayisela, water tankers are made available to all affected areas.

“Rehabilitation of Reservoir 3 at Durban Heights is anticipated to be completed in December 2022,” he said.

Regarding the illegal connections, Mayisela said the theft of electricity continues to be huge concern in both electrified and non-electrified areas within the city.

ALSO READ: eThekwini Municipality aware of electricity outage in some areas

“Illegal connections burden the electricity network which results in constant power outages, exposed live cables have birthed a lot of tension between illegally connected households and paying customers. Such events have forced the Electricity Unit’s Revenue Protection Department to frequent these areas for disconnections,” he said.

He called upon all residents to be ambassadors against illegal connections adding that the Electricity Department is aware of the outage and is attending to it.

Residents are urged to report suspicion of cable theft and illegal electricity connections to the City’s Contact Centre on: 080 311 111 (toll free) or alternatively email: electricity.faults@durban.gov.za or call the South African Police Service on 10111.

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