Ramaphosa says crime and overload are contributors to the Soweto electricity crisis

There are some parts of Soweto which are still suffering prolonged power outages and for this reason, some residents are threatening not to vote if the power is not restored by November 1. President Cyril Ramaphosa says parts of the Eskom electricity crisis are due to crime and overload, he said this while addressing residents in a community meeting held at the Diepkloof Community Hall on Monday, October 20.

“Eskom is trying its best to restore power for all residents, however the problem particularly in Soweto is the backroom business that is currently growing, we understand that people are trying to come up with a source of income, but this is what causes overload.

“Remember when the power utility first installed electricity in our townships, they had an estimated number of households that the transformers and mini substations will be able to supply electricity for. So, when we have backrooms in our yards that the power utility did not count when they installed these mini-subs, it becomes a problem, because they will be an overload, thus these minisubs explode,” Ramaphosa said.

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Another issue Ramaphosa highlighted is the issue of crime, not only in terms of illegal connections but also, min-subs and cable theft.

“We recently visited Nomzamo Informal Settlement and they had electricity issues for three years, we made arrangements with the power utility and they brought the mini-sub to the area, before they could even install it, the next day when they went back, the minisub was stolen, it was gone! So, they brought another one and it was installed and restored power, the next day the cables were stolen. What I am trying to show you is that, we are also contributors to the electricity crisis,” Ramaphosa said.

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