18 July 2024
Protesters blocked main roads in the Free State on Tuesday, demanding electricity be restored. Photo: Tladi Moloi
Protesters from Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State blocked main roads with rocks, burning tyres and trees on Tuesday demanding the Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality restore electricity.
Phuthaditjhaba, Clubview, Mphatlalatsane, part of Mandela Park, and Industrial Area had been without electricity since Friday. Electricity was restored soon after the protest.
Police said five people had been arrested.
The protesters blame workers in the municipal electricity department. They say workers are not switching electricity back on after power cuts to protest against a municipal decision to discontinue overtime work and pay. For several weekends the households have been without power
The municipality sent out a notice to workers to inform them that no overtime had been budgeted for the 2024-5 financial year and overtime would be stopped from 1 July.
Protesters said as a result, no-one was attending to power cuts after 3:30pm during the week or at weekends.
Map showing Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State from OpenStreetMap (Copyright). The town’s population in the 2011 census was about 55,000 people.
One of the workers whose job it is to switch electricity back on after a cut said some of the power outages were deliberate. “We are working from 8am until 3:30pm and everything after that is regarded as overtime. So, some of our members would make sure that they switch off the plugs before they leave, or set them to go down at a certain time,” he said.
Matokelo Maya, chairperson of the Clubview residents committee, said they had held a number of meetings with officials in the electricity department but had not solved the problem. “You know, it is painful to buy electricity and at the time you need to use it, it is not there. We have given up on our municipality. It is clear the only way they do the right thing is when people go on the street, and we can’t always be doing that,” she said.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring said five people had been arrested for public violence.
Municipal communications manager Thabo Kessah blamed the power cuts on problems with the substation, which he said was under pressure after a transformer was vandalised.
He said the issue of overtime had been resolved with the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU).
SAMWU shop steward Tankiso Motaung confirmed that a temporary agreement had been reached.
“They have agreed that they will pay next week what is due to employees and draw up a workable plan for the overtime to be worked,” she said.