RESIDENTS of KwaNobuhle in Kariega have endured nearly two weeks without electricity after a power outage was triggered by vandalism at the Mabandla Bridge.
The culprits, believed to have targeted power lines to steal cables for resale, have left entire communities without power, disrupting daily life and escalating frustrations.
While most of KwaNobuhle had electricity restored as of Sunday, February 9, some areas remain in the dark.
Several residents who requested anonymity shared with UD Express that many of them have had their cables stolen from their homes during these two weeks of darkness.
A local community leader, Tamsanqa Nqevu, said, “Since the power outage started, as a result of cable theft that has affected so many people in the Metro, criminal activity in KwaNobuhle has increased significantly.
When areas are dark, it presents an opportunity for criminals to commit their criminal activities.”
A concerned resident, Lilitha Mali, said, “This power outage couldn’t have happened at a worse time because it occurred just after doing our groceries for the month. We had to move food to a family member’s home outside of KwaNobuhle to prevent it from spoiling. This situation forced us to get fast food constantly because we couldn’t cook anything. It took a huge toll on us.”
An educator at Phaphani Senior Secondary School in KwaNobuhle, Thabiso Dakuse, added, “My daily routines have been drastically affected by the power outage because instead of cooking, I had to buy takeaways, which led to unnecessary expenditure. Warm showers suddenly turned into cold baths, causing me to catch the flu. The little money I had was spent on everyday food and water because our water pump stopped working due to the power outage.”
He also mentioned that the lack of electricity resulted in him having to travel to Gqeberha to get his clothes washed and ironed so that he could look presentable at work.
“It was difficult to prepare work as well because it was dark most of the time, and I couldn’t make any copies for my learners. This made it challenging for me as a Language and Life Orientation teacher to cover some topics because these topics required learners to have copies of the work in their books,” Dakuse said.
He added that food parcels from the municipality would have been highly appreciated during this time because refrigerated food meant for the learners was thrown away when it spoiled during the two weeks without electricity.
Senior citizen Vuyiswa Mconi (82), also shared that the two weeks have been depressing for her as a pensioner because she won’t be compensated for the spoiled food she bought for the month.
“I was too afraid to go back to town to buy more food because it could have gone bad again. What is worse is that we were not given a time-frame by officials as to when the electricity would be restored,” she said.
She also mentioned that she was forced to buy gas, which was not budgeted for, to avoid having to buy takeaway food every night for supper. Additionally she had to purchase paraffin for her lamps.
In response to these residents’ complaints, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson, Sithembiso Soyaya stated, “Some of the challenges that caused delays include the supply of materials. The second challenge was the remains of a body discovered on site. Recent rain has also delayed the repairs.”
Soyaya also provided an update on the restoration of the 66kV cable that was damaged owing to vandalism at Souci-Mbandla Substation. They shared that 90% of the power supply has been restored in KwaNobuhle. However, a small section of residents served by the Ponana feeder are still without electricity owing to vandalism of the local transformer.
He added that the Metro is exploring other alternatives, including engaging private security to assist in guarding the city’s infrastructure and working with other law enforcement agencies to safeguard infrastructure.
“We cannot rely solely on law enforcement but require cooperation from local communities to prevent and stop any form of vandalism to municipal infrastructure as this reverses any gains the municipality and government have made in providing services to the very residents who vandalise infrastructure,” Soyaya said.
The municipality pleads with residents to remain vigilant in curbing vandalism to infrastructure and to work together with local authorities.
