Enyonini erupts into chaos
"We are trying to arrange a meeting with the power utility to find out what the problem might be and try and find solutions."
Burning tyres, debris and broken glass, scattered over the road surface, were the remnants of the protest action by the Enyonini residents who erupted in anger yesterday over constant electricity outages and water issues still plaguing the area.
Reuben Molelekoa, Newcastle’s deputy mayor, who arrived to speak to the ward six protestors, said he found, that despite their anger and frustration, they were co-operative.
“They agreed to move away from the road. Their main concerns are electricity and water. The electricity, supplied by Eskom, is constantly cutting off. We are trying to arrange a meeting with the power utility to find out what the problem might be and try and find solutions,” said Molelekoa.
Molelekoa added illegal electrical connections in the area may be contributing to the intermittent electricity supply.
He admitted water also appears to be a point of contention. The residents complained about it trickling in prompting the municipality to send out water tankers.
“We will be sending a technical team out to go and assess the possible causes,” he said, saying he found the lack of pressure strange since proper water pipes had been installed in the area.
Molelekoa said the community had complained that they were tired of not been able to get hold of their ward councillor, Siphosakhe Zulu.
“The Speaker is currently aware of this issue and is attending to it,” he promised.
Samkelisiwe Yende, the Newcastle Council Speaker, said she had also been in touch with the Enyonini community.
“I was there with the police,” she confirmed, “… and the main issue is electricity and water.”
Yende revealed she had taken the complaint up with the ward councillor who was not answering his phone but that he had offered an explanation saying he had lost his phone and now has a new contact number.
“It might be he couldn’t be reached at the time but we should state, it is any councillor’s job to be accessible to the community. We need to stress, however, councillors also work with ward committees and if a councillor is not available, the community should communicate with other ward committee members. We have 10 ward committees at the municipality, all fully operational. If the matter is urgent, however, the community can then contact me directly. I have had a conversation with the ward councillor in the past month, so perhaps there was some miscommunication between him and the community,” Yende suggested.
Yende supported Molelekoa’s view on the reasons behind the protest and also believes outages are mostly caused by illegal connections in the area. “When there are illegal connections, Eskom will naturally experience problems with electricity supply,” she asserted.
Captain Sipho Nkosi, Osizweni SAPS Communications Officer, said the community gathered again today (June 17).
“We were able to disperse the crowd last night without any problems and we continued monitoring the situation throughout the night and this morning. We have just heard they are gathering again, and our teams are responding to the scene right now. The community’s main issue is the problem with their electricity.”
Eskom was contacted for comment but area manager, Karel Frackers was out of office and is only available for a media statement tomorrow which will follow in an update.
This is a developing story. Newcastle Advertiser will keep you updated on all the latest developments.
ALSO READ: Newcastle shut down by protest
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