Customers stood in long queues for hours and hundreds of prepaid electricity users in Grahamstown East were without electricity for as long as three days this week, as outlets remained offline.
Customers stood in long queues for hours and hundreds of prepaid electricity users in Grahamstown East were without electricity for as long as three days this week, as outlets remained offline.
Mangele Williams, of Extension 1 in Joza, was among customers who queued outside Engen garage in Beaufort Street on Friday morning. He blamed the situation on what he called “political appointments”.
Extension 6 resident, Sylvia Kota, said she'd had to use candles on Thursday night. “We ran out of electricity. Candles are dangerous, but we had no choice,” said Kota.
Ntombekhaya Notyawa, from Extension 6 in Joza, said her family was without electricity on Thursday night. “We could not cook. The children had to wash in cold water,” said Notyawa. She said the situation had affected users badly.
“People had meat and other stuff in their fridges and freezers and stuff had to be thrown away,” she said. Thembalethu Gwebani, of Extension 9, said he had been standing on queue for two hours in the hope of getting electricity and was still waiting. “I don't know whether I'll get it,” he said.
“I cannot understand Eskom, Williams said. Why are they only fixing their problems now? This should have been done a long time ago. There is someone who did not do his job properly. They fail to plan. As a result, people on the ground suffer because of their actions.”
Hilary Joffe, national spokesperson for Eskom, was not available for comment at the time of going to press.
