Residents across the Matjhabeng Local Municipality experienced extended electricity outages over the Freedom Day and Workers’ Day weekend, with some areas without power for more than five days into the new week.

The outages affected multiple towns including Hennenman, Odendaalsrus, and portions of Welkom. Electricity was briefly restored on Monday to parts of Bedelia before being switched off again.

DA councillors Estelle Dansey and Hansie du Plessis said electricians refused to work overtime to restore power despite it being approved. On Monday morning, workers returned to work and fixed faults within minutes.

Residents dependent on oxygen had to be hospitalised, babies requiring tube feeding were placed at risk, and the elderly were left vulnerable without functioning alarm systems.

Ward 3 councillor Maxie Badenhorst said residents dependent on oxygen had to be hospitalised, babies requiring tube feeding were placed at risk, and the elderly were left vulnerable without functioning alarm systems. Families were unable to cook, heat their homes; food spoiled, and water supply was affected as pumps could not operate without electricity.

Two residents in Odendaalsrus were hospitalised, which Dansey attributed to the lack of electricity.

The Thusanong Hospital was among the facilities affected, with reports indicating the hospital had no power and no functional generators. Businesses in affected areas reportedly closed during the outages.

Hansie du Plessis submitted a petition to parliament, requesting urgent intervention.

Du Plessis submitted a petition to parliament, requesting urgent intervention. Dr Igor Scheurkogel escalated the matter to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and the National Council of Provinces, requesting an immediate investigation.

Dansey wrote to Matjhabeng’s Local Labour Forum committee, requesting that the municipality and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) meet urgently.

She stated that essential services should not be used as leverage in labour disputes.

Jessica Nel, DA councillor said residents in Odendaalsrus had lost appliances and food due to outages.

A senior resident of Allanridge’s Commando Street was rushed to hospital after being without oxygen for five days. He remains in hospital as power here has not been restored for three weeks.

Tshediso Tlali, spokesperson for the Matjhabeng Municipality, said the recent surge in power outages is primarily due to a combination of normal infrastructure breakdowns, inclement weather conditions, and ongoing theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure.

“Our technical teams are on the ground and actively attending to all reported outages, working to restore power supply as efficiently as possible,” Tlali said.

“The municipality has also increased security visibility in identified hotspot areas to safeguard critical infrastructure and mitigate further incidents of vandalism and theft.”

■ On Wednesday 6 May, notices were sent out that a pump at De Erf Vaal Central Water was malfunctioning due to the heavy rains. The notice stated that it was being attended to, and no time frame could be given for when the water would be restored to the majority of towns in Matjhabeng.