JOHANNESBURG - Benoni residents are demanding answers from the Ekurhuleni Metro as they have been left in the dark without electricity for 10 days.
The angry residents say the power outage has disrupted their daily lives, forcing them to dump thousands of rands worth of spoiled food.
Several areas in the suburb had no power on 23 and 24 January but supply was eventually restored on 27 January.
Barely three hours later, residents were once again left stranded without power.
The affected areas include Rynfield, Northmead, Mackenzie Park, Rynsoord, New Modder, Western Extension and Benoni’s central business district.
For Jeff Smith, who has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and depends on supplemental oxygen, the situation is life-threatening.
“It’s been desperate. I need the oxygen overnight because my blood oxygen levels get too low. The only alternative is to try and sleep upright and having a recently injured back, I struggle. Every morning I’m feeling tired and weak. It’s unbearable,” Smith said.
An emotional Smith said they have had to throw away at least three bin bags full of spoiled food.
He added:
“We’re on pension. It’s depressing. In this day and age, this should not happen. We have an inverter, but the oxygen machine flattens it out in two hours and I can’t charge it. It’s been really desperate."
Ward 73 councillor Mary Goby said the response from the City of Ekurhuleni has been disappointing.
“In the beginning, they were keeping us up to date, but now we go 72 hours without any updates. Ekurhuleni should have given us feedback on the progress, even if it was every 24 hours. Our biggest problem is that the communication is very bad,” said Goby.