Protest action leads to lights on

By Emily Setona

QWAQWA – While disgruntled Phuthaditjhaba residents were ushered into a meeting with the chief whip and the MMC of electricity and infrastructure Ditaba Nhlapo, Executive mayor Malekula Melato met with her Mayco and key stakeholders to discuss the issue of electricity that had left residents of this community without power for almost five consecutive days.

Tuesday 16 July saw the residents of Phuthaditjhaba take to the streets near BP garage to barricade the road and burn tyres. This disruption of inferno caused the scheduled council sitting to be postponed and instead Melato called an impromptu meeting with her Mayoral committee and several key stakeholders to come up with an immediate tangible solution.

Protesters blocking the road near BP garage in Phuthaditjhaba.

According to chief whip Moeketsi Lebesa part of the community of Phuthaditjhaba have been without electricity for five consecutive days.

“The problem is that people want electricity right now. The MMC of electricity and infrastructure will be escorted by police to fetch a municipal electrician who lives in Marakong village to go switch on the substation in Bluegumbosch today. The fear was that people are barricading the roads and that it is unsafe. He will also go to SS1 to go and lift the switches, this substation is carrying most of the community and it gets overloaded and overworked,” Lebesa said to the media.

MMC of social development Mary Crokette reported to her ward and said that the people who wanted to go fix the issue of electricity feared for their lives but through the intervention of the mayor they came up with a solution and the issue of overtime money was also being sorted out because it contributed to the problem.

Protestors blocking the roads.

“The problem was the lack of communication because the premier did commit to giving the municipality money for the SS1. We need to communicate more with the people to let them know what is going on in the municipality. Things don’t change overnight. We also need to push the people to buy electricity and put in the prepaid meter boxes,” Crokette said.

Community leader Maputsoe Ntshefu said to this publication that things need to change, the approach for better life and service delivery needs men and women of integrity and zeal this after he had met with the executive mayor and her Mayco to discuss possible solutions for the electricity crisis that plagues Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality.

“Our people have suffered a lot, the rate of poverty is increasing on daily basis, crime rate also due to high unemployment rate. All the above needs a holistic approach, all stakeholders, including business people must sit in one roof to reshape the municipality, blame games won’t assist and will not take us anywhere,” Ntshefu said.