A blame shifting game has ensued among residents of Macassar, Eskom and Balwin Properties over power cuts associated with the exposure of nicked cables to the elements.
Residents are pointing the finger at both Eskom and Balwin Properties, while Eskom blames the developer, who is conducting work in the area, for nicking a cable. In turn, Balwin says the problem arouse when heavy rains affected the cables in August.
Residents took to the streets in protest on Sunday 9 October, after a power outage of more than 12 hours affected parts of Macassar. But things got out of hand on the evening Monday 10 October, when a the protest turned violent with burning tyres blocking access to the area (“Macassar residents angry”, DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 12 October).
In a statement issued on Facebook, the Greater Macassar Civic Association (GMCA) condemned and distanced itself from the violent protest. “Yes, we are furious about blackouts and load shedding on top of it, but we need to protect our community’s name, our rights and our infrastructure,” Auriël September, GMCA secretary, said.
“Infringing on someone else’s right to be safe in the road and in their own vehicles, as well as in their homes, is violating their constitutional rights.”
Balwin Properties, which is currently conducting upgrades to Macassar Road, said it is aware of power interruptions in the area.
“Due to the incorrect location and position of the cables as previously confirmed by Eskom, the contractors nicked the cable casing when excavating for the stormwater line on Friday 5 August,” said Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties.
“Although no power outages initially occurred [when] the cable casing was damaged, subsequent water ingress during heavy rains caused power interruptions in late August.”
Brookes said the company’s engineers confirmed current works are not in the vicinity of the affected cable and could not have caused the outages.
In a statement, Eskom said its senior management had met with community leaders to discuss the ongoing outages.
“On Saturday 27 August electricity to Macassar was affected for approximately five days, due to multiple faults caused by cable damage due to construction contractors carrying out roadworks in the area,” the statement read.
The power utility managed to restore power to most of Macassar by Tuesday evening (11 October).
But Ward 109 councillor Peter Helfrich stated the electricity was not restored after scheduled load-shedding periods.
“The 3,2 km cable along Macassar Road supplies the majority of Macassar with power,” he explained.
“This cable is now almost 52 years old and has been damaged more than 50 times.”
Helfrich claimed that Eskom has repaired the cable countless times over the last 10 years, adding the infrastructure should have been entried replaced.
“Eskom is adding a new 120 m cable to the existing cable and can’t continue repairing it. Really, it needs to be replaced,” he implored.
Helfrich, however, branded his meeting with a senior manager at Eskom as “positive”, as the official mentioned he needed a few weeks to address the problem. “It sounds as if Eskom may indeed replace the entire cable. I think it was a very fruitful meeting,” he said.
