Winterveldt, an area north of Tshwane, initially benefited from the Government of National Unity’s National Electrification Programme in the early 2000s, Eskom has since declared the area a “Red Zone,” depriving parts of it of its services.
Local businesses, schools, clinics, and even the police station now operate without proper electricity, relying instead on generators.
Nelson Selomane, an entrepreneur and business owner, told Tshwane Bulletin, “I was forced to close two of my businesses. The one that’s still operating is just running for the sake of it.”
Residents say they have been waiting to be registered as legal consumers for them to purchase electricity, but they are not getting any help from Eskom.
One resident explained, “We want to do things the right way, even if it’s just buying R50 or R20 of electricity. The problem we encountered after the electrification was completed was that when we recharged our vouchers, we found that the accounts belonged to Mpumalanga, not Winterveldt. We reported this to Eskom, but nothing has been done. With Eskom not budging, we’ve now called for government intervention.”
Christopher Sikhumbuzo Masia, Ward 24 Councillor, said that Eskom requested the intervention of community leadership councillors to witness the removal of illegal connections.
“Eskom has stored the electricity of unaffected houses and is requesting data from houses affected by power failure,” Masia explained. “The resolution of this problem lies in an agreement between the government and Eskom to provide legitimate service to the community.”
Masia added, “Eskom hasn’t serviced Winterveldt for a long time, resulting in illegal connections. Eskom, the City of Tshwane, and all stakeholders must agree and come up with a solution. Some areas have been without electricity for about a month. The level of poverty is increasing because many community businesses rely on electricity.”
The councillor concluded, “We are again entering a series of meetings with them, but every time it’s like we are starting all over. They’ve requested data on the areas where they’ve switched off the transformers.”
In a previous interview with the media, Amana Qithi from Eskom urged the community of Winterveldt to partner with Eskom in reducing or preventing prolonged outages. “We ask residents to refrain from conducting illegal electricity-related activities as they not only negatively affect Eskom but also inconvenience law-abiding paying customers and community service points such as healthcare and education facilities, businesses, and the economy at large.”
