Belhar residents have cried out for help after being left in the dark for the past two weeks.
Twelve households in Extension 7 have been affected after skelms broke into the grey electricity kiosk, stole the cables, and set it on fire.
This has left angry residents from Fonteyn Close, Mahler Street and Banjo Walk without power and they say Eskom is doing nothing to assist.
Simoné Abrahams says it’s become a daily struggle to do basic tasks, and living without electricity is affecting them emotionally and financially.
The gatvol vrou says: “No one wants to come home to a dark house at the end of a long work day, to have to boil a kettle on our gas stove for warm water to wash yourself.
“We have had to throw out a lot of our food as it has gone off. Luckily a kind friend has helped us by allowing us to store some of our frozen foods in his freezer.
“However this still requires us to cough up the extra petrol money to make the trip to fetch our frozen foods.”
Nigel van Rensburg, 51, says his son, who is in matric, had to move out since it is affecting his academics.
The angry dad explains: “He has been living with my in-laws for the past two weeks. We are frustrated at this point and we feel that Eskom is blaming us for what has happened.”
Abrahams says there’s been minimal help from their local ward councillor, Willie Jaftha.
However, Jafta says his office has been engaging with Eskom to restore electricity in the affected areas.
Jafta tells the Daily Voice: “The fact of the matter is that we are waiting for Eskom, who told me they are waiting for material. We are waiting for Eskom to put up a metal kiosk.”
Eskom confirms that it is still in the process of replacing the vandalised kiosk, but reiterated that it is not being prioritised.
Mbulelo Yedwa, General Manager of the Cape Coastal Cluster, says: “Eskom in the Western Cape has spent millions on replacing and repairing stolen and vandalised equipment and have taken the decision not to replace equipment if theft and vandalism continues to persist.”
He says Eskom has spent R96m in the Western Cape during 2023/2024 as a result of theft and vandalism.
Meanwhile, Abrahams says the community has taken it upon themselves to install fencing around the kiosk to deter vandals.
With no answers forthcoming, she says: “It seems Eskom will rather let you suffer in darkness than provide actual feedback with a timeline.”