A LONG-SUFFERING Kenville resident has spoken out about how illegal electricity connections turned his home into a living hell. The resident, who did not want to be named, fearing attack, said an abandoned home next to door to his house was at the root of the problems.
“Sometimes we have no electricity for more than six hours or even days. Since last Tuesday my house has been without electricity. The problem is out of control and started because issues of land invasion were not given proper attention. We spent Diwali, the festival of lights, in darkness due to the illegal connections. It should have been a joyous occasion but that feeling has long dissipated. We were left in darkness while the invaded household next door was bathed in light.
Read also: Illegal connections affecting residents’ health
“Because I’m unemployed, we rely on my dad who is disabled. But at this point we are losing appliances regularly which we don’t have the money to replace all the time. We’ve already had to throw out food spoiled by the power outages. It’s incredibly frustrating when the City is not able to help unless they come in with protection. What hurts me the most is that we law-abiding-citizens, pay for our water and electricity but at this point in time we are paying for someone else to use our electricity,” the frustrated resident said.
Ward councillour Bobby Maharajh said stronger action was needed from the City to curb the theft.
“Not only are the illegal connections causing damage to the city’s infrastructure and equipment, but they are also putting people’s lives in danger. The open live wires increases the potential for school children and pedestrians of being electrocuted,” he said.
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