In a stern message to extortionists, concerned community members helped keep Eskom workers safe in Khayelitsha on Friday.
This after Eskom last week sent out a notice, saying they were withdrawing services in Harare because of gangsters who demanded R20 000 for ‘protection’ of their workers.
But the Site B residents in the W-Section went all out to make sure that the workers were protected, and stop skollies from intimidating or harming them.
Resident Emihle Ngqwebo says: “On Thursday, a transformer exploded and caught fire, so Eskom had to be called out to fix it.
“Since there was a post on Facebook that was trending about Eskom workers who were told that they must pay R20 000 for protection fees, we the residents of W have come together.
“We stood there and watched as the Eskom people were working.”
She says they guarded the workers for 12 hours and even provided food.
“They arrived at W-Section, around 10am to fix our transformer and left after 10pm and residents were watching including the elderly women and men and the youth.
“Even Somali shopkeepers came and provided bread and cooldrink and oranges for everyone.
“It was a beautiful thing to watch the community unite. We hope other communities will do the same.”
In a statement, Eskom said their workers were approached by gangsters who demanded a protection fee of R20 000 a month.
Eskom’s acting general manager, Mbulelo Yedwa, said the decision to pull the workers out of the area was made to protect their employees, while discussions are being held with community leaders and business forums to find solutions to resolve the matter.
“The safety of our employees cannot be compromised and therefore Eskom has withdrawn services from Harare, until community leaders and SAPS can guarantee that it is safe to return,” Mbulelo says.
“We have also been made aware that there’s a syndicate illegally connecting people for R1500 per household.
“These activities are what’s severely straining our network, especially during peak times when transformers are overloaded.”
A Harare resident said they have been told to elect leaders who will collect R300 per household so it could be paid to the skollies.
“They asked the people to come forward and report those who are not compliant,” the resident says.