Buziwe Nocuze
Residents of Site B in Khayelitsha, Cape Town have taken it upon themselves to guard Eskom employees from local gangs when they come into the area.
This comes after Eskom withdrew their services in some sections of Khayelitsha township after criminals demanded a R20,000 protection fee from them.
On Friday, while Eskom technicians were fixing a damaged transformer in Site B, about 50 residents, both men and women, watched over them.
Young kids played soccer while adults sat on the chairs covered in their blankets, making sure the workers were safe.
Ward Councillor Lukhanyo Simangweni was at home when community members arrived, asking him to join them.
“I was happy to see the community working together and standing up against criminals,” said Simangweni.
“It shows that when we work together, we can have a better tomorrow.”
Eskom employees arrived in the township at around 10am and worked until 10pm to restore power.
A resident said they were not prepared to live without electricity for the sake of criminals who want easy money by extorting Eskom technicians.
“After the transformer broke we knew we had to do something. We can’t wait for the government to come up with a solution,” said one community member.
“If we allow these criminals to extort money from Eskom then it means any department coming to render services will have to pay a protection fee.”
They told Scrolla.Africa if it means they have to sleep on the street protecting employees, they will do that.
“The Eskom employees were comfortable and appreciated what we did. They did their job and replaced the damaged transformer and we escorted them out of the township when they were done.”
Image source:BBC/Getty
