Residents of Maraisburg came together to voice their concerns about the power outages they have been experiencing for some time now with several threatening consequences.
Pieter Swanepoel, a resident explained they realise they are not the only ones struggling without power, however, it feels as though Maraisburg has been forgotten. He explained the community has tried every channel at their disposal yet nothing has yielded any results.
“We have been to the City of Johannesburg, we fight with the ward councillor, we have been everywhere, all we get are closed doors, they just don’t care,” stated Swanepoel.
Ward 86 councillor, Chantelle Fourie-Shawe stated: “There have been a multitude of issues. As with many areas across Joburg. It’s unfortunately not unique to Maraisburg. City Power simply does not seem able to cope, no matter what they are telling the public, the proof is in the pudding.”
Swanepoel elaborated he can care for himself, he can run batteries, however, he still falls in his own house, he raised concern for the elderly residents who can’t afford batteries and generators, not to mention what might happen if they were to fall with no one there to help them. Zaine Timm, also a resident mentioned many residents make use of oxygen and the power issues are threatening their lives and eventually someone will be deemed a murderer.
Shamiel de Villiers, another resident stated he has been without power for seven days at the time of speaking to the Roodepoort Record, while Timm has been without power for 12 days. They mentioned Johannesburg City Power came out many times before to look at various issues, however, there were no results. They also stated an electrical pole was hit by a car on Sunday, which is a threat to the children who visit the park where it is.
Swanepoel explained when the grass is wet you can feel the electricity flow through the park. He asks who will take responsibility for the children, as the pole hasn’t been repaired despite City Power having been there. They also mentioned a cable that was breached, to provide power to residents, caught fire not long after City Power worked on it.
“He comes out, he takes a look and then he leaves and just doesn’t return,” said De Villiers.
He also mentioned break-ins have been a problem with many residents involved with security and safety initiatives within the community. Many have been informed of numerous accounts where thieves came into people’s property as well as incidents where dogs were poisoned. Swanepoel stated he has lost R50 000 worth of equipment due to theft and his insurance paid out half back.
Timm added residents are angry and frustrated without power and he’s ‘asking for help’, he added there are many that are struggling and can’t ask for help.
Isaac Mangena from City Power stated on June 9, “The final job in Maraisburg was completed a short while ago. The technician replaced about 10 metres of stolen cable. All Maraisburg jobs are now resolved.”
Regarding the claims of failed service delivery, however, no comment has been received at the time of publishing.
On June 9 Swanepoel stated residents were already experiencing low voltage, he added when the City Power technicians came out on Friday to continue the work started on Thursday, they found exposed cables laying on the pavement.
Mangena said, “I’ve been informed that the technician is being harassed and threatened by people in Maraisburg. If this continues, resources will be pulled out.”
