- Residents desperate for intervention
- Residents are accusing the municipality of gross human rights infringements
- “There are people on oxygen therapy, old people, and families with babies. Their lives depend on electricity, therefore electricity is an essential service that the municipality must deliver,” – Scheurkogel
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Residents of large sections of Odendaalsrus are desperate for an intervention from the Matjhabeng Local Municipality to take officials to task for not regulating load shedding periods.
Tuesday morning (01/08) marked seven consecutive days residents experienced disruptions in their electricity supply at night or after scheduled load shedding due to officials stating they do not respond to queries after 20:00, their phones being switched off, or no feedback given as to why there are disruptions.
Residents are accusing the municipality of gross human rights infringements, and damage to property resulting from the slackness of officials in performing their duties.
“I have suffered material losses because of this incompetence and slackness to do what they are paid to do,” one resident who breeds exotic fish told Vista.
Igor Scheurkogel, councillor for Odendaalsrus, says this is totally unacceptable and not as per the council’s directive about overtime, which is allowed for essential services.
“Residents’ human rights are already infringed upon with the ongoing water shedding, which is the direct result of poor management and no consequence management.
“There are people on oxygen therapy, old people, and families with babies. Their lives depend on electricity, therefore electricity is an essential service that the municipality must deliver,” he says.
Scheurkogel says the best part of this dire situation is that the affected residents are taxpayers who do not get the services they pay for every month.
“Without these ratepayers officials will not have salaries,” Scheurkogel added.
He is calling for officials who do not perform according to their signed performance agreement to be brought to book.
