8th DAY WITHOUT ELECTRICITY

Disgruntled Members of Vryburg’s Extension 25 and 28 (Colour Blocking) have gathered at the Main Naledi Substation. These community members have been without electricity for over a week due to what Naledi Local Municipality referred to as a burning of a cable termination. Tuesday, 14 July 2020, marks the 8th day that they are without electricity. According to some members community, the first three nights and days of no electricity came and gone without any communication from any officials, and this the community disapproves.

Though out the course of last week those community members say they have been given fails hope that their electricity issue will be resolved on Monday, 13 June 2020. The VIP Team understands that a revolving loudspeaker gave community members that message the previous day. The colourblocking community is still without electricity.

Those gathered at the Substation say they have had enough and want a resolution with immediate effect. The VIP Team spent a few hours along side these disgruntled members, as they demanded and waited for any official word. Delegates amongst the members took it upon themselves to liason with the municipality and other officials relevant to the resolution of the issue. During this time frustrations and tensions intensified, as members saw that no one was paying attention to their issue.

Community members say their patience has been tested to the limit. Yesterday, members summoned the mayor to address them to this effect. To the dissatisfaction of what they were hearing from the mayor, members called for the intervention of the Premier of the North West Province, Prof. Tebogo Job Mokgoro. On a telephone call made by the mayor to the Premier, members of the community claim that the Premier instructed the mayor to deal with the electricity as a matter of urgency. In a fact finding mission, The VIP Team spoke to the Office of the Premier’s Spokesperson Vuyisile Ngesi who confirmed the interaction with the community members. “I am not sure what they agreed on but the Premier did engage community leaders and mayor of Naledi LM telephonically yesterday.

Furthermore “The onus lies with the municipality to provide basic services including the provision of basic sanitation, electricity, water, refuse collection – and the Premier can only intervene in as much as put pressure on the municipality to deliver on their mandate; the Office of the Premier cannot be the ones restoring electricity but the municipality.” Indicated Ngesi.

Police were also at the scene trying to disperse the crowd. Rubber bullets were shot and some members of the community sustained manner injuries.

The same fact finding intentions were conducted by The VIP Team with the Naledi Local Municipality and unfortunately, by the time this article was published we were yet to get a response.

As the sunsets in Ext.25 and 28, word from one of the community leaders is that a transformer has been procured locally and will be delivered tonight. As to weather these words were will come to anything, some members of the community still find it hard to believe.

This story remains a prolonged developing story and The VIP Team will continue to track it.

-The VIP Team