The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Mayor of Kamiesberg Municipality, Susarah Nero, to avoid any further delays in restoring power to the many residents of Koingnaas, who have been without power for three weeks.
The prolonged outage has brought the community to a standstill. Businesses, including shops, the bamboo plant and the local garage, are being forced to spend thousands on fuel for generators and the restaurant has been forced to close their door.
Families have lost thousands of rands worth of food, residents are cooking over open fires, and many have been unable to earn an income because they cannot work.
The human toll is just as severe. An elderly resident, who relies on her television for companionship and her cellphone to stay in contact with family, has been left isolated and forced to navigate her home in darkness, with the aid of a walker.
Despite the municipality’s inaction, the local mine and community members have stepped in to assist. One resident travelled to Aggeneys at his own expense to secure specialised fault-finding equipment in an effort to locate the suspected cable break. Yesterdat, some progress was made in terms of finding the fault but full repairs require cooperation, and parts, from the municipality.
Up to now, Kamiesberg Municipality has shown little sense of urgency in addressing this crisis and has failed to provide any support to those working to restore power.
The Mayor must ensure that no more time is wasted in getting the electricity back on. If power is not restored by Monday, the DA will ask the MEC of COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, to provide the technical and operational support needed to restore electricity to the town and to hold the Kamiesberg Municipality accountable for its failure to respond to the crisis.
The people of Koingnaas should not have to continue bearing the consequences of municipal failure, while their livelihoods, businesses and wellbeing are being placed at risk.