The situation is tense in Kaalfontein Ext 23 also known as “dumping”. Residents of the area are at war with the nearby land grabbers.
Like many communities in KAE and surrounding areas, the Extension 23 community did not have electricity for close to 3 months due to overloading caused by illegal connections. Two transformers failed in the area during the winter period.
On Tuesday, 6 October 2020, Eskom finally replaced the 2 failed transformers in the area. Before the failed electric equipment was replaced, illegal connections were disconnected and removed.
Within a couple of hours after the transformers were replaced, people from “umzabalazo” attempted to reconnect to the newly installed transformers and the community was having none of it. The situation was very volatile around midnight.
Police were deployed in the area and fired rubber bullets at the unruly crowd. Shots were fired at the community and police by land grabbers. The land grabbers also threw rocks at the new transformers. The new transformers are already damaged.
The situation is still tense with police patrolling and monitoring the area. The electricity crisis in KAE and surrounding areas is caused by the failure of the
government to provide adequate housing to South Africans.
Meanwhile, the power utility is currently implementing load reduction in Kaalfontein this morning until 09:00. Hundreds of communities are still without electricity due to transformer failures with the latest transformer scheduled to be replaced mid December 2020.
Report Illegal Connections to the Eskom crime reporting line: 0800 11 27 22 (toll-free)
