Cape Town - A generator was installed in Manenberg on Wednesday morning to provide interim power to the area, the City of Cape Town said.
“This action comes after days of threatened violence which prevented City staff, under the advisement of the SA Police Services, from entering the area,” Mayoral Committee Member Ernest Sonnenberg said.
On Monday evening, the Manenberg Laan substation started tripping due to a cable fault.
The police advised the electricity services not to enter the area on Monday evening or Tuesday morning because of violence in the area.
On Tuesday afternoon, electricity staff went into the area with a police escort to set up a generator and locate the fault.
“However, they only had an opportunity to identify a faulty feeder which feeds into Sabie Walk, before they were advised by the SAPS to leave the area for their own safety,” Sonnenberg said.
Staff tried to return on Tuesday evening with metro police, but before the generator could be connected they were advised to leave. This was because two people had just been shot and the gunmen were still in the area.
“While the safety of City staff remains a priority, residents are assured that the City is doing all that it can to ensure service delivery to all of our residents,” Sonnenberg said.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille had planned to visit Manenberg on an election campaign drive on Saturday but the visit was reportedly cancelled because of gang violence.
Sapa