While the nation is grappling with the effects of load shedding, Siyahlala shack dwellers in Langa are not bothered, something that makes their neighbouring Backstage community livid.
According to Backstage residents, the Siyahlala community illegally gets electricity from a nearby power station at Rev Mbambezeli Street. They say they reported the matter to the police in vain. They are now threatening to take the law into their hands to protect the neighbourhood.
Thabo Ndabeni, a Backstage resident, accused the Siyahlala residents of stealing electricity for months while they suffered financially and due to the ongoing blackouts. He claimed this led to the power supply in the area failing.
“I saw them connecting wires on the danger box. I went to the police station to report it and the police came and saw them but they did nothing. Instead of chasing them away, they talked to them and left while they continued with their illegal connection. The police are not helping us at all,” said Ndabeni.
He claimed power supply into the area had been severely interrupted with frequent explosions at the power station. He said they sometimes spend up to three days without electricity due to the illegal connections.
“Our appliances are not working because of them. And it’s too dark at night when there are no lights which put our lives in danger. All we need is for the police to intervene and chase away these people before we do it on our own,” he urged.
Langa Police Station spokesperson Capt Nondumiso Paul said they knew about illegal connections in Langa. She said they mostly occur in informal areas.
“It’s difficult to comment in this particular case because it was not registered. But we are aware of illegal connections in Langa as a whole. Sometimes when the police see people busy illegally connecting we arrest them and inform Eskom to disconnect it,” said Paul.
