Elderly Germiston man left without power for weeks
"My father is 74 years old and hospitalised. He requires oxygen 24/7, so when he returns home, having power is essential.”
Residents and the Ward 92 leadership were shocked at the conditions of the city, with the elderly living without power for weeks.
In an email to the GCN, René Henning described how her father had been without electricity.
She stated in the letter that despite efforts, her father’s power outage at Blesbok Street, Elandsfontein Rail, had persisted for several weeks.
“Whenever we seek help from the Germiston offices, we are met with unhelpful and rude responses,” she claimed.
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“A water pipe ruptured in my father’s yard around 10 months ago,” she stated, adding that personnel were sent out with a digger to dig out and fix the pipe. But they refused to repair the yard and left it in a terrible state.
“My father was without electricity for weeks as a result of the main power cable being cut in two locations during this procedure.
They eventually came back and temporarily fixed it using their illegal connection, saying they would send someone to fix it correctly as soon as possible.
“My father hoped that the municipal workers would finally be there to address the problem when they arrived three weeks ago to remove the unlawful connection wire. But regrettably, nothing happened other than the wire was cut.
“My father has been without power for three weeks since and no one has come back to reconnect the connection. Can you picture yourself in his shoes?
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“My 74-year-old father is not well. Having power is crucial since he needs oxygen. He pays his bills on time every time. Why is no one doing anything?” asked Henning.
When asked what caused the local power outages, City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini stated that third-party damage to wires left the client without power.
The city confirmed in an email that the electricity had been restored at that time.
According to Dlamini, on March 23, a temporary cable was installed and permanent cable repairs were completed.
“Several illegal connections are affecting this area as Emabodweni informal settlement tends to connect illegally,” Dlamini remarked.
“There were additional faults which were located and repaired.”
