The DA in Victor Khanye has lodged a complaint with Eskom’s Customer Relations division over continuous power outages in Eloff, Sundra, Rietkol and surrounding areas.
For years, Victor Khanye has been riddled with issues of ageing infrastructure, lack of resources and a shortage in personnel.
On the 8th of February during a storm, a breaker tripped affecting parts of Modder East Orchards. Residents followed the procedure and reported the fault as usual via the Eskom Alfred link, call centre and the Whatsapp line to Ekangala Customer Relations Managers.
However, this exercise proved futile after it emerged that there were only two technicians working. Eskom is holding ratepayers at ransom, a number of residents in Victor Khanye rely on Eskom power to pump water for their crops and livestock.
The power utility’s Customer Relations Manager has since acknowledged our complaint and informed us that they have requested their technical team to provide details. Eskom’s ignorance towards this matter poses a serious threat to the town’s economic growth. Ratepayers and businesses cannot be subject to additional power cuts.
In our letter to the power utility company we have asked that they attend to these issues:
- Ensure there are enough technicians to assist all communities.
- Ensure there is a maintenance plan for their infrastructure.
- Provide a better line of communication for affected residents.
- Weigh up the big and small faults and try to come up with an effective working system.
- Ensure there is quality assurance done to avoid repeated faults.
We expect Eskom and the municipality to review all their infrastructure and implement changes in order of priority. They need to make sure that they develop and maintain infrastructure to the satisfaction of the residents.
There is a need for the sustainable provision of electricity in our communities. The DA will continue holding the municipality and Eskom accountable and making sure that they are responsive to the needs of the community.