Residents in Laudium were in panic mode last Sunday late evening (January 28), as news of an alleged imminent attack from Itireleng residents went viral on social media.
Reports of Itireleng residents marching in their hundreds towards Laudium caused much distress, causing the local police station to be inundated with frantic calls from Laudium residents requesting police to beef up patrols in the area. However, the panic soon turned to calm when news broke that police had stopped the march.
Itireleng residents claimed that the power outages in their area have led to a drastic increase in crime. One irate resident was quoted saying that the community was no longer safe without lights and was offering criminals, on a silver platter, the chance to attack the vulnerable.
A mob of angry residents took to the streets in the late hours of Sunday, just before midnight, marching down Pierre van Rynneveld Road (Military Road), toward the Laudium Civic Centre, in order to voice their concerns. They were, however, stopped by police before they could get to Laudium.
The residents claimed that power often goes out 2 to 3 times a day and would thereafter take a long time to be reconnected. They said enough was enough and decided to protest against the current situation by planning to hold a picket at the council offices in Laudium.
Resident, Vincent Ntshaube (29) said that aside from the criminal elements that crept into the community as a result of the darkness, a number of other inconveniences were experienced as well. He said that the power outages were also affecting household electrical equipment, namely refrigerators and freezers that saw hundreds of rands worth of food going bad, resulting in extra expenses for households barely able to make ends meet.
He was adamant that the problem was reported to authorities, but said it has been falling on deaf ears.
"Here in Itireleng, it is not safe when we don't have power. It is dangerous for everyone as power outages give thugs the chance to pounce on us and do damage in the dark. It's unfair that our community has to suffer like this all the time, and we get neglected. We can't live on high alert all the time and be alarmed by every pin that drops in our homes or shacks," Vincent told the Laudium Sun journalist who was in the area.
Another resident from Itireleng said that the outages were happening all too often. "Electricity always trips when it is windy and when there are rainy conditions. We are asking the city to upgrade the feeder line.”
Responding to the claims, local councillor, Mahomed Essop, said that authorities were working on resolving the situation. "The department is aware of the power outages and has explained that it is due to the illegal connections being done in Itireleng. Tshwane City Power is on site at the moment trying to fix the problem.”
The Itireleng Informal Settlement, adjacent to Laudium, now quiet after residents protested a few nights before, about continuous power cuts in the area.
Vincent Ntshauba (29) said the outages in Itireleng were happening once too often.