Small South African village left without electricity for 36 days

Residents and businesses in Koingnaas, a small village in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape, have been without electricity for 36 days.

It has reached such concerning levels that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has escalated the issue to the Northern Cape Provincial Government.

It called on the MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass, to intervene.

“The prolonged outage has brought the town to its knees. Businesses have suffered losses, and many residents have lost their income for July,” the DA said.

“The local café and fuel station, the only fuel outlet within a radius of more than 60 kilometres, can operate for only a few hours each day.”

Esmé Hough, a councillor in the Namakwa District Municipality, said that she attended a meeting with frustrated residents this week.

“The community has lost all confidence in the Kamiesberg Municipality’s ability to resolve the crisis,” she said.

This is partly because the municipality’s electricians lack the expertise to repair a high-voltage cable fault.

Confidence has been further eroded by the Kamiesberg Municipality’s financial woes, which have led to service delivery problems.

Kamiesberg Municipality was recently among those unable to pay salaries after the National Treasury withheld funding because of financial mismanagement.

Amidst the problems, workers from the local mine and bamboo plant have volunteered their time and equipment to excavate the damaged cable.

Residents are now hiring equipment at their own cost and have even launched an online auction to raise funds for the parts needed to restore electricity.

“Residents should not be forced to finance repairs that are the municipality’s responsibility,” Hough said.