In a service delivery protest this morning some 2000 learners from Bloekombos High school in Kraaifontein pushed open the gate at the Kraaifontein subcouncil office in Brighton street to demand electricity connection at their school.
According to learners they have been without an uninterrupted power supply for the past seven months.
After entering the premises the doors to the building were closed and police and law enforcement were called to the scene.
Calm was restored after a few tense moments whereafter City officials negotiated with organisers to allow a limited amount of children and teachers into the building to discuss the issue.
Five learners, five teachers and the organiser Linda Phito were allowed into the building.
This follows a silent protest yesterday where learners blocked Old Paarl Road.
“We can’t do our projects because we do not have WiFi at school. There is only one generator which is not enough for the entire school,” says one child who does not want to be named.
Children say their complaints have fallen on deaf ears over the past few months.
According to information available, the problem stems from stolen cables from a electricity pole in the Covid informal settlement, that connects the school to the Eskom grid.
A source says that Eskom applied to the City to have a new cable installed, but that this process had been halted due to safety concerns.
This, according to the source resulted in a “blame game” between the City and Eskom.
Illegal connections and vandalism are rife at the Covid informal settlement where cables are stolen as soon as it is installed.
In a media response from Eskom, spokesperson Kyle Cookson says illegal connections, ongoing cable theft and vandalism have led to an increasing number of equipment failures.
“This has affected the electricity supply to legal customers such as the school, which has been without electricity for a few months now,” he says.
“The school made a request to Eskom for an alternative temporary electricity supply and Eskom technicians were on the site to look at the possibility of constructing an 11kV overhead line. However, a group of angry community members harassed Eskom staff and rejected any plans for Eskom to put up electrical structures within the informal settlement area.
“Eskom is currently engaging with the community and stakeholders while assessing options to temporarily restore supply, but Eskom will prioritise the safety of its staff and prevent any work where employees are subjected to safety risks in volatile areas.”
The meeting at the Subcouncil 2 office is still ongoing.
