VANDALISM AND ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS CAUSE NORTHDALE MISERY
It has been another frustrating week for the residents of Pietermaritzburg’s northern areas, where residents have been without electricity, water, or both.
The issue has been ongoing; the electricity outages have been caused by explosions at transformers and multiple isolated incidents, which have left the residents without power, some for at least four days. Illegal connections, vandalism of the substations and grid overloading have been cited as key reasons for the crisis.
Areas affected by burst water pipes include Regina Road, Fuschia Place, Khan Road and Shamrock Place.
Those affected by electricity outages include Firwood Road, Bombay Road and Shamrock
Place, in addition to the Lahore Road Substation and Bombay/ Karupana Road Substation, where an explosion occurred on Monday afternoon.
On Wednesday, after the electricity was restored to some areas, residents were then left without water.
One of the reasons for the water outage was due to a pipe bursting at the Shamrock informal settlement; however, the pipe could not be accessed at night due to the multiple illegal electricity connections.
Eventually, a repair team accessed it yesterday morning and fixed it.
The Witness drove around the northern areas yesterday and found that several holes had been dug up in different roads, that were cordoned off following emergency repairs to water pipes or electricity cables.
Larkspur Road resident Kusilal Devpersad said the locals are unhappy, with electricity or water outages almost every week.
“We have invested in our houses here, yet every week we have an issue. Then we have to stay without water for so many days. It is very unfair; we pay our bills and rates but still we have these issues,” he said.
A municipal worker told The Witness that staff have been working around the clock attending to faults and broken pipes but, given the number of problems and the complications, capacity has been strained. He said ageing infrastructure, overloading, illegal connections and vandalism of substations were some of the reasons for the high number of complaints.
A 72-year-old pensioner, who did not want to be named, said they have to go to their families’ homes to collect water whenever there is an outage.
“We did not have water from around 6.30 am this morning and we have started a habit of keeping water, especially to use in the bathroom. It is very difficult when there is no water and we need to use the loo. We are elderly and we pay our bills but we still have to experience outages. It is equally difficult for the families that have to go to work and send their children to school,” said the resident.
An affected resident, Zama Hlengwa, said it can take up to two days for water to be restored whenever a pipe bursts.
“The water problem started yesterday around 9 pm when the pipe burst. We have seen that the pipe has since been repaired, but we are not sure if we are going to get water today.
“When there is no water, it depends; sometimes the water tanker does come around, otherwise we have to fetch from people we know who live in the surrounding areas,” said Hlengwa.
Ward 28 (comprising much of Bombay Heights) DA councillor Renisha Singh said the residents had a difficult week as there were multiple issues.
“It is very unfair for the residents who have to go without electricity and water for so many days,” said Singh.
“Some have been without electricity for four days.”
She said that on some days power is restored in the morning and then it goes off again at 6 pm.
“This is the time when families get home and it is very difficult. We are told that the reason for the outages is due to an overload and illegal connections,” she said.
Msunduzi Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said the power outages is due to an overload on the aged electricity cables, the vandalism of the substation and electricity theft.
“There is ongoing vandalism of the substation and, at times, after repairs are made and the illegal cables have been removed then they are immediately replaced,” said Mkhize.