Longlands community members threatened to resume protest action on the R31 road on Wednesday if Eskom did not arrive as promised to restore the power.
CALM was restored following a protest by Longlands community members on the R31 road on Tuesday after they were left without electricity since the weekend.
Residents expressed frustration that no action had been taken to repair electricity poles damaged during recent heavy storms.
They reported that a woman reliant on an oxygen machine had died during the power outage.
“We are also unhappy about service delivery and the lack of water,” they added.
Community members threatened to resume protest action on Wednesday if Eskom did not arrive as promised to restore the power.
SAPS provincial spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock said that police from Delportshoop, Barkly West, and the Kimberley SAPS Public Order Policing unit responded to the protest on the R31 near Delportshoop on November 12 between 2.30pm and 4.15pm.
“About 60 community members barricaded the road with rocks and burning tyres,” Kock said.
He added that the Frances Baard district commissioner, Major-General Charlotte Makgari, addressed the protest leaders at the scene.
“The situation is currently stable, though the police will continue to monitor it,” Kock assured.
The Dikgatlong Municipality did not respond to media enquiries.
Meanwhile, Public Servants Association (PSA) provincial manager Steve Ledibane raised concerns that the 2024 matric final exams could be disrupted in Springbok after the electricity was disconnected at the Department of Education offices in the Namakwa District due to non-payment.
“The district office had its electricity cut off, affecting the water pressure and leaving officials unable to perform their duties in the dark,” Ledibane stated.
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe confirmed that the Namakwa district office in Springbok had been without power for five days.
“The electricity account of our district office was in arrears, which led to the electricity being cut by the Nama Khoi Municipality. The department made a payment on November 12 to settle the arrears. Our district office is currently engaging with the municipality to restore the electricity supply to enable work to continue as normal,” said Van der Merwe.
He assured residents that the electricity cut had not impacted the matric exams in the district.
“The National Senior Certificate examinations are running smoothly without any major challenges. Our officials are continuing to monitor progress,” he said.
Nama Khoi Local Municipality spokesperson Jason Milford added that the electricity cuts had only affected the Department of Education’s administrative building in Springbok, due to “significant arrears“.
“No schools or examination venues were impacted and the matric exams are continuing without any interruptions,” said Milford,
He noted that government departments were obligated to keep their municipal accounts up to date.
“Unfortunately, non-payment by certain district departments has resulted in an overdue balance exceeding R11 million. Despite efforts to address this, some departments have developed a pattern of non-payment. Several departments failed to attend a recent Treasury-convened meeting aimed at resolving these arrears.”
Milford stated that Nama Khoi Municipality remained fully compliant with the Eskom debt relief programme.
“We are one of only three municipalities nationwide to consistently meet Eskom’s monthly obligations. In the past four months alone, we have paid over R54 million to Eskom. To date, we have paid over R200 million to the power utility, underscoring our commitment to service delivery, infrastructure upgrades and prudent financial governance.”
He added that the municipality was focused on supporting educational success and ensuring service stability for all residents.
