An Uitsig family sukkeling in the dark since December with their disabled daughter has slammed Eskom and cops for leaving them in the lurch.
Rosaline Adriaanse, 39, said she has been phoning Eskom daily for nearly two months, but claims all she gets is a new reference number.
“The cable from the pole to the house has been stolen. It was a Wednesday night when my husband woke up because he heard a saw and when we got outside we saw the cable was missing, it obviously has to be tikkoppe,” she explained.
“I don’t have gas, I need to use candles and make a fire, my daughter Rochelle is disabled and the smoke pak op haar bors.
“Some days she is so restless like on hot days because I can’t put the fan on, she can’t do anything for herself; us adults, we can cope but my kind ly daar onder.”
She said they went to Ravensmead SAPS for an affidavit for the theft but were told they didn’t need one.
“But two weeks later Eskom came on a Saturday and didn’t want to help us because we didn’t have an affidavit. When we went back to the police station, we got attitude and were told that Eskom shouldn’t tell them how to do their job.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg has advised Rosaline to make an appointment with the Ravensmead SAPS station commander to lay a complaint.
Wednesday, Eskom confirmed that its technicians “have prioritised attending to the fault”.
In a statement on January 11, Eskom said it has been experiencing a backlog due to illegal connections, cable theft and vandalism “which led to long duration power interruptions and extended restoration periods for customers”.
It said the areas worst affected were Blue Downs, Delft, Eerste River, Khayelitsha and Uitsig.
marsha.dean@inl.co.za