When Diane Roothman left Alberton with her family in December last year to settle in Malvern, in the east of Johannesburg, she thought she had dodged the constant power outages at her previous home.
But after six months in her new home, she regrets the move. Her new home is plagued with power outages every week.
Roothman is not alone — many other residents in Malvern expressed the same frustration to TimesLIVE. They say the constant power cuts are caused by the constant theft of electric cables by illegal miners operating in the area.
Residents of Malvern East, Primrose, Primrose Hill, Dawnview, Wychwood and the surrounding areas have written a thread of e-mails to the Ekurhuleni mayor, demanding a permanent solution.
“Nothing gets done to stop it, nothing gets done to prevent it — it just got to a point where it is ridiculous. We are paying for services that we are not getting,” Roothman said.
She added that residents had been trying to communicate with the municipality through their ward councillor about the Wychwood substation and whether the municipality could hire guards to guard it.
“They must do something to stop them from continuing to steal the cable. You can’t even have a cup of coffee, never mind keep frozen food.
“We've got to a point where we cannot cope any more and are thinking about moving out of the area. We moved in in December, from Alberton, where there were outages but never as bad as here,” she said.
She added that for the past few months, they had to survive on takeaways since they couldn't cook.
“We go to a friend where we can shower and have hot water. I have a blind mother-in-law living with us. Then there is a security risk because the electric fence is off, and the gate doesn't work. Something has to be done, urgently,” she said.
Another resident, Zelia Coelho, said that the outages, which at times last five to six consecutive days, have been going on for the past two years. She said the illegal miners fought among themselves, shooting guns or and blasting underground. She blamed the illegal miners for stealing the cables which supply power to their substation, leaving several suburbs at a time plunged into darkness.
“Every week, there is either cable theft or damaged cables, meaning no electricity for days on end,” she said. “Our lives are at constant risk. The zama zamas spend the night shooting, waking us up and scaring us. Explosions are heard at night.
“Our houses are getting huge cracks from these illegal explosions. We are worried that one day our houses will sink into these holes. A few weeks ago, zama zamas tried to ambush members of our security company in the residential area of Malvern East/ Wychwood.”
She said her neighbours were looking after their elderly parents who rely on oxygen, and when there is no electricity, it becomes difficult for them. She claimed that the city was failing to maintain infrastructure.
Coelho said she had to make adjustments just to survive in the area. She said she uses gas to cook and a small generator for lights and plugs.
“Our food is in freezers; these people are always complaining, especially in our ward, on our WhatsApp group. People are saying I have just been shopping for the month, and I have to throw all my food out. “It is a never-ending story, and it is nearly every week,” she said.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the electricity comes from the Wychwood substation, which is riddled with cable theft and vandalism.
“The most recent case of theft was this past weekend. Power was restored on Sunday, and we are back on. Technicians are still on site working on tightening security measures, given that the early warning detectors tender has lapsed,” he said.
He added that the city's technicians will be working in the area for the whole week, and customers are likely to experience power supply interruptions as a result of this intervention.
TimesLIVE
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