MOSSEL BAY NEWS - On Tuesday morning Mossel Bay Municipality electricians, accompanied by a contingent of law enforcement officers, went to several streets especially in the Elangeni area in KwaNonqaba to remove illegal electricity connections.
Two boys, Luthando Hashibi (3) and Sukhe Milisi (4), were electrocuted in Elangeni on Thursday, 14 July 2016, and another, Simthandile Mthwesi, on Thursday, 5 January in nearby Endlovini. Electrocution owing to a makeshift illegal connection previously claimed the life of an adult woman in KwaNonqaba.
People in Elangeni were surprised by the unexpected appearance of the task team that escorted the municipal electricians into the area. Some were quick to disconnect illegal connections themselves ahead of the team of electricians that moved from pole to pole to remove the wires, some of which were stripped of all insulation.
At many of the poles electricity cables were in tangles, and in one case a resident tried to dislodge the electrician from the ladder he used to get to the wires by yanking on some of the wires.
On average, residents appeared to have resignedly accepted the interruption in their supply of electricity. Others scrambled to get a hold of the cut wires, vowing to again connect them as soon as the electricians left the area.
In at least one incident a man became agitated with the operation as the electricity to his dwelling, which he claimed had a legal connection, was cut. Residents were quick to gather at one of the shops and in an alleyway leading from this shop down to the rest of the houses.
"The municipality gives us water and supplies toilets; why do they not give us electricity? For ten years we have been moved here. We ask for basic services. This time we will have to toyi toyi again; we will close off the streets again," an annoyed man told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
As the Advertiser left the scene while the operation was ongoing, some residents, however, said they were happy with the operation. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one woman said the roads would now at least be safe again for a while.
"Some people steal electricity and make the whole area unsafe for all of our children. I don't want my child to also die just because he played outside," she exclaimed.
Residents tried to argue with the electrician as he disconnected the illegal wires running from a distribution box. They claimed to have legal electricity meters, yet several illegal wires stemmed from just this one box.
ARTICLE & PHOTOS: NICKEY LE ROUX, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER NEWS EDITOR
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