Phoenix residents have endured widespread hardship over the past year due to persistent and lengthy electricity outages. These recurrent power failures, often stretching between two and 13 days, are attributed to faults within the Medium Voltage (MV) and Low Voltage (LV) infrastructure, leaving communities without power, damaging essential household appliances, and causing significant food spoilage. The prolonged blackouts have severely undermined public trust in municipal service delivery.
Councillor Samier Singh, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Acting Whip for the Governance and Human Resources Committee, has expressed grave concerns regarding the city’s apparent failure to provide adequate support or compensation to affected residents. Councillor Singh stated: “Despite repeated calls for consumers to submit public liability claims to seek compensation for their losses, responses from the city’s administration reveal a deeply troubling trend.”
He further elaborated: “The answers confirm what residents have long suspected; while the community suffers, accountability remains elusive. The fact that not a single claim has been approved, despite clear and repeated service delivery failures, points to a system that may be more focused on protecting the institution than serving the people.”
In response to this critical situation, Councillor Singh has advocated for several urgent measures. He has called for an independent review of how claims are assessed, a public audit of MV and LV fault repair times and recurring outages specifically in Phoenix, and consideration for the creation of alternative support mechanisms for residents who continue to incur financial losses due to infrastructure failures.
Councillor Singh added: “This isn’t just about power cuts; it’s about dignity, fairness and holding our institutions accountable. Phoenix residents deserve better – not only reliable electricity but also a responsive and just system that acknowledges their struggles and compensates them fairly when the system fails.”
In a reply to formal questions posed by Councillor Singh at a Full Council meeting on 26 May, the city disclosed alarming figures: Approximately 50 claims were submitted by Phoenix residents between January 2024 and January 2025. The investigation period for each claim reportedly ranges from four to six weeks. Crucially, none of these claims have been approved, meaning the City has paid R0.00 in compensation to date. All claims were rejected on the basis of “no negligence” on the part of the municipality. The claims are processed internally by a single official, Mr. Shaun Francis. Residents are required to email their claims to: claims@durban.gov.za.
