Umgeni Park residents describe nightmare 11-day electricity outage

IN recent days, parts of Durban have been left without water and electricity due to the ongoing strike action by eThekwini Municipality workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu).

The strike is allegedly over a demand for an increase in wages, and thus far, the City has served 79 employees with notices of misconduct for engaging in what they say is ‘unlawful conduct’.

In Umgeni Park, residents were without electricity for 11 days, from February 29 until Sunday, March 10, which amounted to 264 hours without power.

Some residents spoke to the Northglen News about their ordeal.

Also read: Electricity outages leave Glen Anil and Glen Hills residents in the dark

Mari Bruwer said she lost more than R3 000 worth of food and also had to bring her devices to work to charge.

“I don’t feel any apologies from the eThekwini Municipality are worth it. I feel there must be stern action taken against the striking workers, and their contracts should be terminated. If this was the private sector, this would not be tolerated. It is not fair that we, as ratepayers, are affected even though our rates are effectively paying for the workers’ salaries.

“I think I lost close to R3 000 of groceries and food that I had to throw out. If it wasn’t for my boss at work, then I would not have been able to charge my phone and power banks. As a family, we had to travel to our in-laws across town just to shower. I have a child in high school so it made it incredibly difficult to iron uniforms and wash clothing,” Bruwer said.

Fellow resident Trevor Bruce said he was considering leaving Durban because of the recent turmoil, including the 2021 July unrest.

Also read: Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch fights back against cable theft

“I was fortunate that my boarder was able to take a few items to a deep freezer, but I lost the majority of what was in my fridge and freezer. I will say that the 11 days without electricity created mental anguish and was an absolute nightmare. I dreaded the evenings because our security was compromised. I could not use a fan or aircon to combat the heat, and it was depressing.

“I think many residents who went through similar experiences felt deep anger and frustration. I feel the right to strike is fine if it’s done legally. From what I understand, this strike has been illegal since day one. I don’t agree with threatening non-striking workers and intimidation tactics as this has impacted service delivery. I fear this is going to get worse leading up to the elections, and I’m seriously reconsidering living in Durban North,” he said.

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