Eskom’s servitude area a security risk

Fed up with Eskom, residents in Suikerbekkie street in Bromhof, took it upon themselves to clean up overgrown grass in the servitude area near their complexes which the company failed to maintain. The residents hired and paid for a service company to clean the servitude area after complaining to the Eskom numerous times.

They alleged that a lot of criminal activities have occurred around the servitude area, because of the overgrown grass. “It’s an environment that criminals can use. Criminals jumped over the fence and got into our complex,” explained Amrith Singh, a trustee at Karli Gardens Complex which is near the servitude area.

Singh added that for the past two years, Eskom has been maintaining the servitude area but it requires regular maintenance because it is quite a big risk to the residents. “Since the beginning of this year, no maintenance has been done. We are trying to make the place safe and that is why we have asked Eskom to cut the grass. We hired a garden service company to clean up on Wednesday and Thursday last week and paid it ourselves,” explained Singh.

According to him, Eskom was contacted and responded by saying they have no funds.

Another resident from King Ficher Complex said the servitude area on both sides of Suikerbekkie street, needs to be cut and cleaned-up because there has been an increase in house robberies and vehicle hijacking in the area and the servitude area is often used as a hide out. When contacted, the Johannesburg Roads Agency said Eskom leases the servitude area from them and if the area is not maintained, they would have to clear the area and claim expenses from Eskom. “A contractor will be dispatched to clear the servitude near Suikerbekkie Street in Bromhof. We anticipate that the area will be cleared on 7 April,” said Dikatso Mothae from the Eskom Media Desk.

Details: Dikatso Mothae, Eskom Media Desk (011) 800 3309 / 3304 / 3343 / 3378/ 082 805 7278