Laudium residents are at their wits’ end, due to the seemingly never-ending problems facing them on an almost daily basis. If it is not crime related problems, then it is water cuts. If it is not water cuts then it is power failures. If it is not power failures then it is the ever-increasing number of nyaopes harassing residents for money. If not nyaopes, then illegal dumping and so on and so forth.
One of the many problems facing the community, is the ongoing power failures in the Zenith Crescent area at the entrance of Laudium, affecting houses and the Mosque in the area and also nearby Emerald Street.
Ebrahim Mahomed, a resident of Zenith Crescent, told the Laudium Sun, “We have had a recurring electricity problem in the area for months now, particularly at Zenith Crescent. Our electricity keeps going off for no apparent reason and we have been complaining to the council, but the problem persists. Each time we complain, the council takes their time before attending to the problem, but even after fixing the problem, after a short while, the same thing occurs again. It seems the council technicians have no clue what the cause of our lights going off so often is, as they repair the problem, but on a temporary basis. The workmen of the council come and do a shoddy job and go, then the following week, the electricity is down again. I do not know how these guys work or what they do when they get here. The main problem is that our electricity cable is connected to the main sub-station on Emerald Street. I think there is a fault at the sub-station which was damaged, and these council guys do not want to fix it permanently and properly. They just do a sloppy job, so that they can come back each time, after hours and claim overtime money, regardless of the inconvenience we as tax- paying residents go through, especially now, during winter. It is very cold and to have no hot water or to sleep without heaters, due to no electricity, is very cruel on the part of the council, to us. Also, I would like to raise the issue of illegal dumping on our street. Residents from all over the area, just come and dump their waste here. These culprits are polluting our environment and do not consider our well-being, as residents who live here.”
Mariemuthoo (Tubby) Pillay, a resident of Emerald Street, said, “We have been experiencing electricity outages too often. When it happens, we don’t even know if it’s load shedding. But, when we go outside and check, we see that other areas in Laudium are all fine and have electricity. It seems that our electric cable, connected to the sub-station, is old and is causing these problems. Even our street lights do not work and this is a really big security risk. This problem of our lights going off so often has been going on for months now, but the council does not seem to want to resolve the issue.”
Councillor Mahomed Essop, said,
“Those residents who have complained, must send me their reference numbers after they have reported a problem. If I have the reference numbers, then I can take the matter up with the relevant departments at the council.”
