Protest Erupts After Neighbourhood Without Power for Weeks

A protest erupted in ward 46 in KwaNobuhle township, Kariega, on Tuesday morning, because over 300 households have not had electricity for three weeks.

People blew whistles, sang songs and burnt tyres on Nomakhwezana, Madonci and Zola Nqini streets, blocking them with rubble.

A resident, who only identified herself as Nomaxabiso, told GroundUp that a power outage affecting the entire ward since 28 January was only fixed by the municipality on the weekend. But a transformer that had blown before 28 January, and provides electricity to people who live in Phase One, has still not been fixed. These were the people protesting.

“No one has attended to us,” said Nomaxabiso.

The municipality said on Sunday that “90% of the power supply has been restored in KwaNobuhle.”

“However, a small portion of residents, served by the Ponana feeder, are still without electricity due to vandalism on the local transformer.”

Zoleka Nkumanda said without electricity she had no refrigeration and her family cannot eat their usual home-cooked meals. Her son and grandson go to school without ironed uniforms.

When Nelson Mandela Bay Metro police arrived, they assisted the protesting residents by calling Councillor Ntobeko Nqakula (ANC), who arrived soon thereafter.

The crowd, standing next to the broken transformer, accused Nqakula of neglecting their pleas. Nqakula responded that most of the residents of Phase One did not attend meetings.

A resident told Nqakula: “You failed to address the matter when you discovered we don’t attend meetings. You should have asked us why we did not attend. Many residents don’t even know you.”

Nqakula promised residents that there will be meetings in their area soon and they must attend.

He was later seen clearing burning rubble on the corner of Zola Nqini and Madonci streets. He acknowledged to GroundUp that the neighbourhood had been without electricity for weeks. He said a new transformer had arrived to fix the electricity outage.

A truck with a new transformer was seen driving past Nqakula and the crowd.

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