Suffering with no electricity
THREE weeks after a transformer supplying electricity to Orange Grove township blew up, residents still have no electricity.
School pupils and students writing exams are using candles and flashlights to study at night, and residents have lost thousands of rands worth of food.
Residents told the Daily Dispatch yesterday they were still waiting on Buffalo City Metro’s promise to fix the problem.
BCM said the transformer blew because of illegal connections, and obtaining a new one took time and expense, and it was hoped to obtain a new one as soon as possible.
Senior citizens depending on social welfare grants said they had no option but to visit loan sharks so that they could buy paraffin and food.
Magasela Mmangali, 56, has to get up early to make a fire to boil water for her children to wash and to cook.
“We only buy food once on the first of the month when we get social grants and most of that food has gone to waste.”
Sicelo Dunga, 35, said he had lost a lot of money after perishable food got spoiled.
He said municipal officials at BCM’s electricity department in Chiselhurst told him a new transformer had been ordered.
“That was last week on Tuesday,” he said.
Second-year journalism student Olwethu Sizani, 25, said she was unable to study at night and had to wake up early to start a fire to boil water.
The residents said they expected the municipality to use emergency procurement funds.
BCM city manager Nceba Ncunyana said the pole-mounted transformer had blown up because of illegal connections. “This happens on a regular basis and the procurement of these transformers takes time.
“There was a period where BCM was unable to get any of the 100kVA transformers from the manufacturer,” he said.
“They cost about R60 000 to replace, not taking into account labour, transport and installation costs. Our staff must also be escorted by law enforcement officers when working in Orange Grove as they are threatened and have been held up at gunpoint and with knives and robbed of their possessions in broad daylight.” —