Macassar ward councillor invites Electricity Minister to deal with area's prolonged power outages

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 councillor

Helfrich 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

Fourth body found dumped in Macassar

The body of a 35-year-old man was discovered in Macassar on Saturday, three days after another body was discovered in the same area, bringing the tally to four.

SUPPLIED: Peter Helfrich

The police’s Wesley Twigg said the body was discovered by a member of the public on Macassar Road, Macassar. He added that an inquest was registered for investigation and a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Last Thursday, a body was found floating in a pool of wateron Macassar Road in Macassar. Last Saturday, the body of an unidentified woman,who is suspected to be in her thirties, was found floating in shallow water on Macassar beach. The body was discovered by a fisherman. A day later, the bodyof a man that is suspected to have been stabbed to death was found in thebushes on Macassar Road.

Ward 109 Councillor, Peter Helfrich, says Macassar has become a hotspot for criminals to dump bodies. He blames it on a combination of failures by Eskom and SAPS to provide the services they are required to deliver.

‘’It is very clear that almost all of the bodies being dumped in the ward are bodies of persons who do not reside in the ward.’’

He says it is very likely that they have been murdered elsewhere and dumped in Macassar.

‘’The rapid increase in the dumping of bodies in the ward coincides with the extended Eskom power outages we are experiencing. It is not the first time bodies have been found dumped here. Macassar seems to be becoming a dumping hotspot for bodies.” – said Peter Helfrich, Ward 109 councillor.

‘’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,’’ he added.

Helfrich wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, askingto intervene in the situation.

 

Done By: Mitchum George

Three bodies found within days in Macassar

A third body has been found in Macassar, in a space of a week.

The latest body was found on Thursday, after 4pm, was discovered on Macassar Road in Macassar. The police’s Wesley Twigg said a passer-by discovered the body floating in a pool of water. He added that the body had no visible injuries and a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Last Saturday, the body of an unidentified woman, who is suspected to be in her thirties, was found floating in shallow water on Macassar beach. The body was discovered by a fisherman.

A day later, the body of a man that is suspected to have been stabbed to death was found in the bushes on Macassar Road. Police confirmed the incident saying the deceased was found with multiple stab wounds to the face and neck, believed to be inflicted [by] a broken bottle. The cause of death and motive, says Western cape police, are yet to be determined.

PICTURE: Pixabay

Ward 109 councillor, Peter Helfrich, says Macassar is becoming a hotspot for dumping bodies and blames it on the power crisis the ward is experiencing.

Helfrich wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, asking to intervene in the situation.

“At this stage, we do not know if either of these individuals is from the area, or if they may have been murdered somewhere else and dumped here. What is quite alarming, is the fact that people saw fit to dump these bodies where they did.” said Peter Helfrich, Ward 109 councillor.

“It is not the first time bodies have been found dumped here. Macassar seems to be becoming a dumping hotspot for bodies. It will be amiss of me to not point out that these incidents seem to take place while we experience load-shedding and extended power outages,’’

“Macassar has been facing a power crisis and criminals take advantage of this. The power crisis, coupled with the fact that we are serviced by a police station that is wholly under-resourced, has directly resulted in the escalation of crime in the area,’’ he added.

PICTURE: Pixabay

Frustrated Helfrich also blamed Police Minister, Bheki Cele, for the lack of resources at its local police station. According to the ward councillor, he wrote to the Cele in 2022, but is still awaiting response.

“I also place the blame for the increase in crime and murders in our ward squarely on the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. Last year I wrote to the Minister to ask him to provide our local SAPS station with more resources and manpower to capacitate them to do their job more effectively. They should be capacitating our local police station to ensure that they can operate at full capacity, which will also allow them to be more visible. The Minister’s office promised to come back to us after I wrote to him. They never did.” – said councillor, Peter Helfrich

“When you leave your home in the morning, there is no guarantee that you will make it home safely again. It feels like we are in a war zone with no one to protect us. We are forgotten and no one cares. Our councillor, Peter Helfrich, has, since his inception as ward councillor, been fighting for more police resources, but it seems like it is falling on deaf ears. Why are we being ignored by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele?,’’ asked Felicity Solomons community activist.

 

Done By: Mitchum George

Macassar residents and surrounds fed up of prolonged power outages

Residents in Ward 109 in the City of Cape Town, - which covers, Macassar, Sandvlei, Brandwacht, and Smartie Town, said they are fed up with prolonged power outages.

PICTURE: Pixabay

Ward councillor, Peter Helfrich, blamed the power outages on ‘’Eskom’s failure’’ to protect Eskom infrastructure, as well as from vandalism and theft in hotspots areas. He said on 1 May 2023, a substation was vandalised by criminals.

‘’This is the only source of power for the residents in our ward and it is extremely worrying that no security officers are placed at this substation.’’

‘’We are also faced with a situation where the only cable supplying the ward with power has failed many times over the last 12 months, leaving our ward in darkness, sometimes for days on end,’’ he added.

The ward’s electricity is supplied by Eskom. Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis said it would take time for the municipality to move Eskom-supplied customers to the City’s grid.

‘’There is about 20% of the City that live in  Eskom-supplied areas. At the moment, there is no way that we can help those customers, but we are trying to take over those areas from Eskom. Eskom seems keen; we are very keen. We are in discussions with them - those discussions are proceeding slowly – there is a lot of work to do.’’

Helfrich says he has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, after he claims, Eskom has yet to find a solution to these problems. He wants Ramaphosa to intervene.

SUPPLIED: Peter Helfrich, ward 109 councillor, letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa

Community Leader, Felicity Solomon, shared Helfrich’s sentiments.

‘’Residents sometimes go to bed hungry. Others cannot go to work. Businesses are closing their doors. It feels like we are steadily moving back to the dark ages. Our councillor, Peter Helfrich, has tried his best to take this matter up with Eskom but does not seem to get their cooperation. It is time for the Presidents to intervene,’’ she said.

 

Done By: Mitchum George