Khayelitsha residents affected by Eskom’s suspended services have halted a protest action along Baden Powell Drive, as a meeting is expected on Friday.
The power utility withdrew operations from Site B after staff members were attacked on Monday, leaving one employee severely injured.
“Two Eskom employees were assaulted by individuals from the community who also took their vehicle keys, forcing them to cease their duties. One of the employees sustained severe injuries and is receiving medical attention. During the incident, an Eskom Enterprise Digital Assistant was also taken, along with the keys.
However, only the vehicle keys have been recovered,” Eskom said.
The temporary suspension of services meant a delay in electricity restoration efforts and customers experienced prolonged periods without electricity.
“Eskom will be working closely with local authorities while reviewing the incident before deciding when staff may re-enter the area to resume operations. Eskom strongly condemns the harassment of its employees, and their safety will always remain our highest priority,” the utility added.
This resulted in a protest action on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith said strategic deployment of resources, including drone technology, was used during the two-day protest.
“Metro police, law enforcement and traffic services were all deployed to protect this vital corridor during this time.
“In the early hours, perpetrators took to digging a trench along an unmanned stretch in a further attempt to render the route unusable.
“The Baden Powell corridor serves as a valuable transit route along the coast, especially with large parts of Weltevreden Road temporarily closed for major repairs. Such protest action targeting Baden Powell can only be viewed as a purposeful attempt to cause public outcry and rage over this period.
“We were able to collect valuable footage to identify some of the instigators and arrested three persons.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said Harare police attended a protest on Wednesday but no arrests were made and no police action taken.
In an update on Thursday, Eskom officials confirmed that services have not been restored and they were expecting to engage the area leadership on Friday.
Ward councillor Thando Mpengesi confirmed the meeting.
“We strongly condemn the incident by opportunistic criminals who have left the community in the dark.
We are hoping solutions will be tabled and services restored.
“The residents must know they also have a role to play in the protection of valuable services that might impact them. We can not allow such incidents to continue,” said Mpengesi.
Meanwhile, the City on Thursday launched its “Let’s ACT” electricity campaign in its fight against “crisis levels” of theft and vandalism.
According to the City, 223 incidents of electricity vandalism and illegal connections were recorded in the first quarter of 2024, at a cost of approximately R6.26 million.
The metro’s Area South, including Mitchells Plain, Wynberg, Muizenberg, Gugulethu, was the hardest hit, recording 57% of incidents.
The launch of the anti-vandalism campaign is an intervention to reduce the impact of electricity infrastructure theft and vandalism in many areas across the metro and all have been urged “to act and stand up for your power”, the City said.
“The City and its contractors can only attend to service requests when it is safe to do so. Where possible, City teams are being accompanied by City law enforcement or private security, when resources are available.
“The City is advising many of its contractors to set in place plans to be able to rapidly leave a particular area if the security risk becomes too great” Report suspicious behaviour to 021 480 7700.
Cape Times