What started as a peaceful march to demand services from Eskom turned violent as youngsters blocked roads in Wesbank with burning tyres.
Police used stun grenades to disperse the mob.
Wesbank residents took to the streets saying they are gatvol of Eskom as some of them have been without electricity for months.
Armed with placards and banners, alongside ward councillor Ebrahim Sawant ► at their said, they chanted, “We want power”.
They came to a halt at the corner of Wesbank Main Road and the Stellenbosch Arterial, where they expressed their concerns.
Gaynor Gawie tells the Daily Voice that she has been without electricity since Sunday: “The problem started with the people who steal cables but Eskom tells us that we should piemp the mense.”
Residents say every time they log a complaint with Eskom, all they get is a reference number.
Meanwhile, their food is going off, appliances are breaking and they have to pay neighbours R10 just to charge their phones.
Others say travelling to work is risky because the street lights are off and they are scared of skollies.
Maria Vergotine, the full-time caregiver of her disabled two-year-old granddaughter Tersia Russel, says she has been without electricity for almost three months.
“Tersia is bedridden and every second day I have to put her on a machine because she has an issue with mucus on her chest. The machine helps to clean her body and make her mucus loose,” Maria said.
“If she is not on the machine, she has a fit but the machine uses electricity and we don’t have electricity.
“I now need to pay someone to take her to Tygerberg Hospital, which is a problem because I don’t have money.”
On Thursday, dinge got dik as people started burning tyres and blocking Wesbank Main Road and attacking vehicles.
Police officials responded with stun grenades.
Sawant distanced himself from the hooligans, explaining that the problem of skollies stealing cables is a recurring one.
“Our people are struggling and unhappy because we have been interacting with Eskom since last November. We are calling on Eskom to call on the national minister to give them the resources, money and manpower to come and fix what they are supposed to fix,” he said.
After the march, he and a few residents went to the Eskom head office in Bellville to hand over their memorandum.
“We gave them a letter to give to the minister of electricity and Eskom admitted they are not doing the best they can because they don’t have the necessary resources as well as capital, but they are trying their best.
“We want the minister to visit the area and see how the people are suffering.”
marsha.dean@inl.co.za