By Aerusha Jenal Lalbahadur
The residents of Yorkham, which is situated in Westham, have been left in limbo and feeling frustrated over the lack of clarity on which councillour to report the ongoing power cuts to, after being “let down” by the municipality on numerous occasion.
The irate residents on Thursday, 19 May, embarked on a protest after numerous electricity cuts led to their appliances malfunctioning and not receiving assistance from councilors due to area falling outside their jurisdiction.
Zinto Pateka, a resident, said they are tired of not having electricity as this is affecting their daily routines and their lives. She said: “When we informed the municipality that we are facing electricity issues, they sent out people in red uniform, who only went to the transmitter and switched it on again. They are not looking for the problem and sorting it out, all they do is look for a shortcut and then leave.”
Pateka said the electricity in the area started switching on and off last year and has gotten worse due to the recent floods.
“Due to the electricity cuts, many residents have had their appliances blowing up. This is not fair and we do not know how to get this sorted out as all our cries for help has fallen on deaf ears,” said Pateka.
Another Ward 52 resident, Tracey Mthembu, who is frustrated about the situation, said: “We are a part of Ward 52. When the elections was held, we voted and yet now that we are going to the Councilor, we are being told that we don’t fall in his areas. Then where do we fall and who is going to help us? The children of the area are not going to school all because of the issues we are currently facing. There is no water and electricity to even send the children to school, they are missing out on so many school days and this is not right.”
Mthembu said while the protest was underway, Metro Police came out and advised them that their area does not fall under the jurisdiction of Ward 52.
The Ward 52 Councilor, Samier Singh, who is aware of the situation, said: “The residents of Yorkham had their protest, which was due to the power failure in their road. This unfortunate situation is caused by the delays from the electricity department to perform their duties. I have escalated their concerns to the Phoenix electricity management for assistance. The department was only replacing a fuse instead of tracing where the cable fault is at.”
Cllr Singh further stated that there is a confusion surrounding which ward Yorkham falls under. “The demarcation for the 2021 elections had place this road under ward 53 which I have met with the residents the day after the protest to inform them. I have also told them that I will assist to the best of my abilities but I cannot be their respective champion of the ward. It’s sad when we see protest actions like this as it puts lives at risk and also we have our infrastructures damaged. The electricity department still would not come out to attend the issue when the protest is happening but came out the next day as they would not put their staff’s lives in danger. Councillors can only escalated issues on behalf of the Residents to senior management of the respective departments,” added Cllr Singh.
Ward 53 Councillor Nonceba Tyelinzima also denied that Yorkham is under her ward. She said: “Its under Ward 52 and not part of my ward.” A comment from the eThekwini Municipality was not forthcoming at the time of print.
