Ward 109 ward councillor, Peter Helfrich, has sent out an invitation to the Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, to see first hand what residents in Macassar are experiencing, during rolling power cuts.
PICTURE: Facebook: Peter Helfrich, Ward 109 councillorHelfrich in May 2023, wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa to
intervene in the ongoing prolonged power outages Macassar and the surrounding
areas have been experiencing, what he claims, for the last 12 months. The ward
councillor also blamed the ‘darkness’ in the area, as the result of bodiesbeing dumped in Macassar. Four bodies – three men and a woman - have been discovered
in Macassar Road, and the female on Macassar beach.
“It is important to understand that Macassar is an
Eskom-supplied area. It pains me to admit this, but residents in our ward have,
to a certain extent, forced themselves to make peace with load-shedding. What
makes it unbearable for residents is the extended power outages that start when
load-shedding ends. These prolonged power outages, at times, last for days on
end. It is inhumane to expect residents to accept additional power outages over
and above load-shedding,’’ said Peter Helfrich, Ward 109 councillor.
On Monday, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and
Environmental Affairs, Barbara Creecy, visited Macassar, to commemorate World
Environment Day. The event, which took place on Macassar Beach, and was
commemorated under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”.
Helfrich said that while the world faces a plastic
pollution crisis, his ward also faces a power crisis. He said, like Minister
Barbara Creecy is doing her part to take action against the “plastic pollution
crisis” he calls on Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to visit his ward and do
something about the power crisis the ward is facing.
“I call on Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to take a leaf
out of the book of Minister Barbara Creecy and to visit our ward amid the power
crisis we are facing. We really need him to intervene and do something about
it.’’
Done By: Mitchum George
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