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Many people in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality have lost their jobs due to ongoing electrical outages, which have wreaked havoc with the local economy and added to the jobs loss bloodbath in the Eastern Cape.

Electricity was finally restored to eKomani today, after an outage of six days. Three weeks ago, Sterkstroom had no electricity for 13 consecutive days, and two weeks ago large parts of eKomani and Ezibeleni had no electricity for eight consecutive days. Electrical outages have become a daily occurrence and are largely a result of decades-long lack of maintenance.

The Enoch Mgijima Municipality technical department continues to try to repair blown cables, but there are no cables in stock, so these must be sourced from elsewhere. Furthermore, the bending of such cables before connection indicates that the technical staff are not sufficiently qualified to work with them, as this damages them immediately and causes further cable blows.

The cost to businesses and residents is huge. Many businesses are closed to trade during outages, and food outlets lose refrigerated and frozen food items worth millions of Rands. Accommodation facilities have to turn patrons away as they are not able to provide them with meals or hot water.

In some cases, accommodation facilities have had to close their doors and their staff have suffered job losses. This at a time when unemployment is rife, and every job is crucial to guard against more severe poverty and hunger.

I will write to the national Administrator of the municipality to urgently request that funds be made available to build up a stockpile of necessary equipment and cabling so that repairs can be effected rapidly. I shall also request that specialist training of the technical staff be undertaken so that cables are no longer damaged when being attached. The upgrading of the entire electricity network in the municipality must be prioritised!

The residents of eKomani, Ezibeleni and surrounding villages deserve to be able to preserve or cook their food and heat their homes, particularly as we head towards a cold winter. They should not be forced to suffer the consequences of a collapsed local municipality where corrupt cadres have enriched themselves at the expense of the residents.

Issued by Enoch Mgijima Constituency Leader Jane Cowley