Mahikeng shattered by 11-day power outage
The effects of an 11-day power outage in Mahikeng in the North West will be felt for months to come.
The sentiment among demoralized residents was palpable when they relayed their struggles over the past few days to the publication.
From a business owner uncertain he will be able to keep his doors open for the rest of the week to a woman spending her grocery money on diesel to keep her generator running, these are just some of the victims of the Mimosa substation explosion on 28 April.
Eskom confirmed on Tuesday that parts of the town had been restored, but residents said the damage had already been done.
“With this total failure of Eskom, where they initially said three days, but now it’s been 11 days already, it’s costing me an initial R400,000 in diesel just to try and keep the product at food health and safety standards. We can’t sustain it,” said business owner Gustaf Trichardt.
His business helps those reliant on income grants, which means his produce is cheaper than other outlets.
“Where will all these poor people shop and sustain their families with the little bit of Sassa grants if we close? They can’t spend more, and I can’t ask more.”
Trichardt said another day or two of darkness and he would have been forced to close shop.
“Between me and my competitor, who I’m keeping stock for, we have R4 million to R5 million worth of stock, and we are the last guys trying to keep supplying cheap food to people who are surviving on old age grants, pensioners, and so on. If we close down, the government is going to sit with [the issue of] how [to] they feed these people, if we can’t keep our shops open.”
Sumandie Martin, who lives with her husband and parents in Golfview, recently spent the last of her grocery money on diesel for their small generator. Her father is on permanent oxygen, and relies on insulin medication for his diabetes.
“This is affecting us very badly. It’s costing us R600 per day to run that generator. We are already on R6,000. That is hectic for us, without even counting the food that we lost.
“We don’t have lots of money. Our grocery money, we went to buy diesel for the generator. You borrow where you can,” Martin told the publication.
Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Arista Annandale suspects that aged infrastructure played a key role in the substation explosion.
She said that not only were businesses affected, but crime soared in the province as well.
“We’ve had several break-ins over the weekend, targeting substations, in a syndicate where they steal cables, and those living near substations are also being broken in. The CPF [community policing forum] and Eskom’s security division and police worked hard to patrol our mini substations and residential areas to try curb break-ins, but it cannot be completely prevented. People’s security systems don’t work. We’re all very nervous at night.”
Annandale said it was “painful” to watch residents suffer.
“The ripple effect on our local economy and community will be felt for months after this,” she said.
As a result, she wrote to Eskom pleading with the utility to exempt the area from load shedding while residents and business owners attempt to recoup their losses.
“Get your act together,” Trichardt told the publication.
“We have businesses that are sustaining food safety to the population. We’ve been biting the bullet for 15 years with load shedding, I don’t know how long they’re going to play with us.”
Martin said the community felt lost, and that Eskom was neglecting them.
“Please, we need answers. All we ask is for answers, and just be honest, and look after us like we look after you.”
-EWN
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