For more than four years residents of Cradock in the Eastern Cape have had to put up with raw sewage spilling into their streets and into the Fish River, and now residents face the possibility of power cuts from next week.
That is according to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape, who claim that the Chris Hani District Municipality and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality have been neglected.
“This is evident from looming bulk power supply interruptions scheduled for these municipalities from next week, which could be the final nail in the coffin for many small towns,” said MPL Kobus Botha.
Botha said he would be writing to the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Fikile Xasa to ask that he urgently intervene to prevent power cuts from taking place.
“For more than four years residents of Cradock have had to deal with raw sewerage spilling into their streets, running through their homes and into the Fish River. Middelburg residents have been forced to endure summers without water, with no support at all from the municipality. Stray animals roam free through both towns, and their infrastructure is deteriorating.”
Botha said the situation had grown even more dire with Eskom stepping up plans to interrupt bulk electricity supplies from next week. According to Botha,the proposed cuts are due to the non-payment to Eskom by the municipality, even though residents have paid the municipality for the electricity they have used.
He said businesses in the towns have been closing, jobs were being shed and electricity cuts would be the final nail in the coffin.
Botha said the DA would request full disclosure of Eskom accounts in all affected municipalities, with a comparison between customer usage, payment of accounts and collection of outstanding accounts.
– African News Agency (ANA)
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Article source: https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/2037040/cradock-buckles-under-failing-infrastructure-da/