If it’s not the issue of crime that residents are most concerned about then it’s the water cuts and if not that, then it’s electricity outages or load shedding and if not that, then it’s refuse not being collected or even wrongly billed utility accounts. But, whatever it is, there is always something that has residents up in arms and frustrated and worse, causing many to have tension and even hyper ventilation due to stress faced on a daily basis, caused by inefficiencies of the local council or government. Many residents would say that Laudium is never a boring place, as there is always some problem or the other that keeps residents on their toes.
In the latest incident, this past Tuesday (October 12) saw many parts of Laudium without electricity, with many complaining that they are fed up with the poor services rendered by the local council. One of those residents affected by the electricity cut and who was highly upset because of it, was Elizabeth Anthony, a resident of Emerald Street, who fumed to the Laudium Sun, “At around 1 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, our electricity just went off. At that time, I thought maybe it was loadshedding. As I’m too old, I can’t keep up with these technology updates on social media, regarding the loadshedding schedules. So I thought maybe the electricity would be back in time, in an hour or two. But then, when my neighbour told me that the blackout problem was not due to loadshedding, I was totally shocked and very disappointed, as I had to wait so many hours for the power to return. I had not eaten at the time it went off and I still needed to cook. Here in Laudium, if it is not water, it’s crime, not that, then it’s electricity. When are we going to get a break from this abusive government? I wonder what excuses they will make to say what caused the blackout problem this time? The government is not planning for the future and is not spending money on new infrastructure. These infrastructures are old and were done by the White government. Since then, nothing has been done for Laudium. Imagine, in the midst of loadshedding, we also get power outages!”
Phumzile Dlamini, a resident of Extension 3, told the Laudium Sun on the day of the power outage, on Tuesday, “We do not have electricity. I got a notification from our WhatsApp group, as everyone else was thinking maybe it is loadshedding. Our area is really having bad luck. If it is not water issues, we have electricity problems. Now I had to go and buy something so that I can eat. I do not know what the cause of this power outage is.”
Mariemuthoo (Tubby) Pillay, a resident of Emerald Street, said, “We have always been facing power outages. It seems that the electricity cables in our area are all old and need replacing. I am not sure if the rains have also contributed to the problem, as perhaps the old cables are worn out and are thus affected by the rain. There was no loadshedding scheduled today. This council is clearly incompetent and lacks foresight as they are not tackling the problem which re-occurs each time. Instead they are just treating the symptom by fixing the problem on a temporary basis and not long thereafter, we have the same problem again. It seems that the guys who come out each time, to fix the problem, get paid. So that is why they won’t want to solve the problem permanently.
Councillor Mohamed Essop, said, “After the power outage of Tuesday was reported to me, I immediately reported it to the relevant department and technicians were dispatched to fix the problem, A few suburbs across the city experienced power outages after the scheduled loadshedding. I appeal to all residents to please switch off and/or unplug all non-essential electrical appliances, geysers/ heating appliances during loadshedding to avoid power surges, when the power returns. Failure to do so may lead to unnecessary trips or damages to household appliances when the supply is restored. Once power has been restored after loadshedding, especially during peak periods (6am to 8am and 5pm to 8pm) stagger the switching on of these items, (ideally switch on geysers at least 30min after power has been restored).”
