Ward 71 residents make desperate plea to councillor and City Power
"We have babies on formula milk in need of boiled water and a bath, we have elderly people who also have needs, we are tired.”
Residents of Witpoortjie and surroundings have made a desperate plea to their Ward 71 Councillor Rene Benjamin and City Power to prioritise them as some of the residents have been without power for more than a week.
On Tuesday, December 13 the residents sporadically took to the streets, venting their anger and disappointment over the poor service delivery and the lack of communication from councillor Benjamin.
“We call on René Benjamin to come and hear us out at the corner of Dromedaris and Nassau Street tonight at 6pm, we are tired of this, we have been sitting without any electricity for over 100 hours; that’s five days. We have babies on formula milk in need of boiled water and a bath, we have elderly people who also have needs, we are tired,” said one infuriated resident.
The residents said that, as rate payers, they cannot continue living in what has now deteriorated into sub-standard conditions.
Councillor Benjamin met the residents at the corner of Dromedaris and Nassau Street to discuss a way forward regarding the power outages in the ward.
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After explaining her role in the ward, she shifted the blame on City Power and said that she was not happy with their lack of communication.
“From the meeting that was held, the General Manager of City Power said that there would be a team coming to the area and before the meeting had finished, the vehicles arrived, but some of the residents tried to approach them and they kept on driving. I had the General Manager speak to the team leader and they responded by saying they will not work under those conditions as they need to organise Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) for protection.
“I said to the General Manager that the residents guarantee that there will be no violence towards the City Power team as they just want them to start working and solve the power issue,” she said.
According to the councillor, the City Power team disappeared and despite many conversations with the General Manager, a decision was made considering the safety of the team.
While on the phone with her, City Power General Manager indicated that he was aware of a cable fault in Grobler Park but was not 100% sure if the issue has been resolved and will update Benjamin accordingly.
According to Benjamin, she had the General Manager on speaker with the residents where he said he would phone her back and let them know what the status is, but he has not called back nor answered any massages and WhatsApp.
As a result of no feedback from City Power, residents took to the streets again on Wednesday, December 14 and burned tyres in Progress Road.
“Those who are still without power in Grobler Park, Witpoortjie, Stumke Street and surrounding as well as Bedien/ Nantes and surrounding and Hammer Street, Reefhaven, your matter has been again escalated and the MMC is aware that the City Power General Manager as from last night has stopped communicating, as we speak, he has not provided feedback as he said he would do last night.
“Even the Roodepoort Police tried City Power and they are not responding, I will keep trying to get concrete updates from them to pass on,” Benjamin concluded.
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