UPDATE: Power to the people

KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) will employ more electricians to enable an improved after hours service.

Last week municipal manager Nhlanhla Mdakane called for an urgent meeting to address the municipal electricians’ concerns following a memorandum last month preventing them from working more than 40 hours of overtime a month.

As a result of the decision multiple communities were left without electricity for several days and violent service delivery protests rocked the area.

In Groutville and Thembeni last week a man was burnt to death, when his brother’s Thembeni shop was looted during the protest.

Also read: Man burned alive during violent Groutville protest

Hardly a month before that, four motorists were treated for injuries after 11 cars were stoned on the N2 and R102 at Shaka’s Head.

That night, a 27-year-old Stanger woman, Sashni Daniel was left fighting for her life with critical head injuries after protesters threw a brick at the car she was travelling in on the R102.

Sashni has once again taken a turn for the worse. Her father, Kovi Daniel told the Courier that she was taken in for another emergency operation on Monday night.

“We were told that her chances were 50/50. She came out of surgery at 8 pm on Monday but her doctors have not yet spoken to us yet.”

KDM media liaison officer Sipho Mkhize said electricians “are now back at work”, although he denied that they were ever on strike.

Also read: Sashni on life support after emergency operation

“The municipal manager raised a number of concerns about the protests which have been taking place and were linked to power outages. The aim of the meeting was to move forward and restrategize the overtime pay rules.

“It was also discovered during the meeting that the reason for the excessive overtime was because KDM does not have enough qualified electricians. There are seven electricians currently working the grid, which is split into north and south sections.

“Three of the staff have to be available for electrical issues on the north which is Groutville to Zinkwazi and four on the south which is from Etete to Ballito.

“Our solution is to employ more qualified electricians so that the ones we have do not have to work excessively.”

Mkhize also said the blanket approach to cut overtime payments did not suit the electrical department as their contract showed they operate on a different set of hours, compared to other municipal departments.

He admitted that the municipal manager was aware of allegations that electrical staff had stirred the violent protests, but that he would only address one issue at a time.

“Our stance is still very clear – action will be taken against any staff member who incited an illegal protest. This matter will be investigated and residents will be questioned.”

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