Eskom Withdraws From Cape Town Informal Settlement After Second Attack in Two Weeks

Eskom announced on Monday that it is withdrawing services from Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha after the security vehicle accompanying the power utility’s workers in the area was hijacked.

Families in Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town will have to wait to have their electricity faults to be repaired after Eskom withdrew its services from the area.

Eskom made the announcement on Monday after the security vehicle accompanying the power utility’s workers into the area was hijacked. The workers were there to fix a number of electricity issues.

Eskom said the recent hijacking had left them with no choice but to halt all services in Endlovini for the safety of their staff and contractors. Eskom said it was the second incident in two weeks where their teams were targeted.

On 9 June Eskom also halted operations in Endlovini after its employees, who were repairing an electricity fault, were held at gunpoint. They managed to escape unharmed but their vehicle sustained damage from a gunshot.

Endlovini’s ward councillor Lonwaba Mqina said Eskom had a backlog of issues to resolve in the area, and it was unfortunate that these will now remain unresolved for now. Mqina said a City of Cape Town vehicle had also been hijacked in Endlovini earlier this year.

Endlovini is one of the oldest informal settlements in Khayelitsha and continues to grow each day. However the area is rife with crime, yet still does not have street lights.

Mqina said some households have been waiting for almost a year for Eskom to fix their electricity faults.

He said improved lighting and more police patrols could help. “In 2022 four people were killed in the informal settlement and we raised the issue of not having high mast lights and access roads. Promises were made but nothing had happened. This informal settlement is huge and there are parts of it that do not have electricity at all, like Nkandla, with 7,000 shacks,” said Mqina.

Eskom said it is working closely with law enforcement to address these incidents and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said Harare police did not yet have a record of the incident.

When this reporter was walking in the area, I encountered two boys walking. I could see that one of them had a firearm.

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