- Residents in Suka Section say they have been without electricity since a fire damaged a pole on 3 October.
- Eskom says technicians were sent to Blue Downs after receiving the wrong address, and the query was closed.
Families in Nkanini, Khayelitsha, say they are sinking into debt after spending weeks without electricity following a pole fire.
Residents in Suka Section say the pole was damaged on 3 October and has still not been repaired.
Yoliswa Mgwenyana, 40, said trying to get help has added to the financial pressure.
“The electricity pole hasn’t been fixed. We have been calling and visiting Eskom, but they don’t care. We don’t have money, but we have to borrow money to call them and take a taxi to their offices,” said Mgwenyana.
She said cooking with gas has also added to her expenses, including transport to collect it.
For Thembela Mbonga, 50, even keeping her phone working now comes at a price. She said she pays R10 to charge it.
“We don’t have money, but we have to pay money to charge our phones for people who have electricity. What Eskom is doing is not right; they must fix this,” said Mbonga.
She said the extra costs have pushed residents into debt.
“Not having electricity is painful, and we pray and hope that the problem gets fixed soon because we cannot carry on like this. Most of us don’t have money and are depending on grant money, which doesn’t even cover our bills,” said Mbonga.
Eskom said its response was delayed because a customer’s sister supplied her own address in Blue Downs instead of the correct address in Khayelitsha.
“Eskom technicians went to the Blue Downs address, and there was no one home. This caused the delay in locating the correct customer,” said Eskom.
The power utility said the query was closed because incorrect information had been supplied.
Residents are still calling for the damaged pole to be repaired so they can have electricity again.
