The frustrated residents of Campbellstown are fed up of the lack of service delivery in the area.
This follows days of living without electricity after a cable was damaged, leaving numerous residents without power to keep the lights on or stop their food going spoilt in the fridge. Long-time resident of Campbellstown, Mario Naidoo, said he has been without electricity for a week, recently. He said: “This is unreasonable. Our electricity has been going off for the past four years, I do not understand how it takes four years for an electrical problem to be solved. Currently I am without electricity, this is unacceptable as all my food items will now get spoilt due to this”.
Naidoo said the recent power cut left them in the dark for over seven days. “We called the municipality, as well as sent numerous emails and only got a response after hours. The electricians that came to the property were rude and clearly did not want to solve the issue, as they kept re-taping the cables with insulator tape instead of replacing the cables. This is extremely dangerous as this road is used by many leaners and could potentially electrocute them.” An angry Naidoo said he doesn’t understand how his electricity bill continues to rise even though he hasn’t been getting proper access to electricity. Another resident, Deva Chetty, who spoke proudly about his community, said: “Campbellstown is a humble and well cultured community, everyone lives in harmony, however we lack service delivery as the municipality has failed us terribly. There is poor communication at the electricity department and response when a call is being made. The phone rings for hours and there is no reply to WhatsApp and emails.”
Chetty said the community has incredible people who continue to inspire, motivate and guide. “Service delivery cannot be compromised. Resources such as equipment and skilled labourers need to be readily available at all times,” added Chetty Ward 48 Councilor, Michelle Lutchmen, who is aware of the electrical issues in various streets of Campbellstown, said she escalated the issue to the head of electricity, who assured her that a team will be there to trace the fault. “The underground cable fault, initially two houses were affected and the team that was sent out restored power to one house. The issue is being attended to and priority has been given to the repair. The residents have been updated every step of the way and I myself was in contact with electricity officials to ensure the issue is resolved,” added Lutchmen. A comment from the eThekwini Municipality was not forthcoming at the time of going to print.
