Category Archives: sea cow lake

Sunday Tribune: ‘We are being deprived’

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The Sea Cow Lake settlement is not affiliated to AbM.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/we-are-being-deprived-1.1109041

‘We are being deprived’

July 31 2011 at 04:12pm
By NIYANTA SINGH

EThekwini ratepayers are losing R120 million a year to illegal electricity connections and cable theft – and the municipality has admitted it’s losing a “war” with shack dwellers who steal council cables and hotwire power connections.

This week, the city all but conceded it was being held to ransom by hundreds of shack dwellers living on the fringes of Reservoir Hills. In a desperate bid to restore power to frustrated ratepaying households in the area, the council backed off the fight with shack dwellers and let them reconnect illegally.

The city’s head of electricity, Sandile Maphumulo, says the incident is not isolated.

On Friday, shack dwellers threw rocks and packets of faeces at council contractors and security guards who had disconnected illegal connections and confiscated stolen cables in Reservoir Hills.

The windscreen of a security vehicle was shattered and guards fled. Last week, security guard Wiseman Mthombeni was shot dead in nearby Sea Cow Lake in a row over illegal connections.

Sydenham police officers and Public Order Police Unit officers arrived at the Shannon Drive settlement on Friday after security officers were chased away.

By Saturday afternoon, about 200 households in the area had been without electricity for 42 hours.

Electricity was restored for an hour, then went off again.

After an emergency meeting on Friday night, called by ward councillor Themba Mtshali, municipal representatives and residents (rate-payers and informal) it was agreed the council would turn a blind eye to illegal connections and not enter the shack settlement to disconnect.

On Saturday Vincent Zondi of the eThekwini electricity department said of Shannon Drive: “While we seek a solution, we will allow the illegal connections and the guards will not enter to take the cables.”

On Friday, shack residents chanted “no power for one, no power for all” before they sabotaged the main electricity cable to Shannon Drive, pulling the plug on the 200 households. A shack dweller told the Tribune: “We need the electricity to carry on living. We do not feel safe without it and because so many of us are unemployed we have no choice but to steal it.”

Maphumulo said on Friday teams were sent to repair the cables, but the job was made difficult by angry shack dwellers.

“We do try to fix the problem, but we are met with a great level of difficulty because people start to fight with the teams there to assist legal, paying customers. We send our teams with security – and not just light security,” he said.

“Whenever we remove illegal connections, they just reconnect; they just cut the legal power cables. They shoot at our people. It’s not just a problem or challenge. The community has declared war on us. The electricity department can only rely on law enforcement agencies to assist us,” he said.

His colleague, Deena Govender, the municipality’s manager for commercial engineering and marketing, said cable and electricity theft accounted for a two to three percent loss in the municipality’s annual turnover or R120 million a year.

Govender said the municipality battled to balance the needs of paying residents with appeasing shack dwellers. He said the municipality was “turning a blind eye” to illegal connections.

DA caucus leader Tex Collins said ignoring illegal connections was “ludicrous”.

“They can fly a kite if they think that I will pay my electricity bill now. Why should normal residents continue to pay while those who don’t and threaten violence get away with it? They should be locked up.

“Why should these illegal residents be given carte blanche to run this city into bankruptcy? It’s total anarchy. What next – will we be buying them cars?” said Collins.

Minority Front caucus leader Patrick Pillay said it was wrong to allow illegal connections because it gave people false hope.

A ratepayer in Shannon Drive, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals from shack dwellers, said residents were fed up and scared. “How much more must we put up with? We pay our rates and for our electricity; yet we are being deprived. We are very vulnerable. All we ask is for an uninterrupted supply of electricity.”

Said another: “It is not fair for us to put up with this because the municipality cannot get its act together. It is their problem and they must not hide behind meetings, by-laws and red tape.”

Mtshali said although it was unfair for residents to be deprived of services they paid for, he disagreed with the municipal delivery of basic services. “Their processes are fraught with bureaucracy. That makes life unbearable for the have-nots. But something must be done, and we will engage the municipality,” he said. – Sunday Tribune

Daily News: Fire, rain hit SA

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http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4588456

Fire, rain hit SA
Storms and bush blazes ravage the country

September 01, 2008 Edition 3

Daily News Reporters

More than three quarters of KwaZulu-Natal was affected by runaway fires this weekend, according to the MEC for Social Welfare, Meshack Radebe.

Speaking in Nkandla today, Radebe said fires and strong winds in the province claimed 17 lives and left hundreds homeless.

Most of the people who died yesterday were pensioners and children.

Today a team of KwaZulu-Natal’s cabinet ministers, including Premier S’bu Ndebele and Radebe, criss-crossed the province to witness for themselves the extent of the damage.

During the visit, Radebe was told that 13 people had died in Melmoth and four in Nkandla, and that 150 homesteads had been destroyed by fires.

“According to the information that we have at the moment, almost 75% of the province was on fire yesterday. We strongly believe that before the end of the day that figure will rise as more and more people report incidents,” said Radebe.

Ndebele’s office reported that the premier would announce measures to ease the plight of those affected.

Premier Ndebele has also conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives as a result of the fires and wish those injured a speedy recovery,” read a statement issued to the media.

Fires were also reported in different parts of the Free State, while heavy storms battered Cape Town and surrounding areas, causing widespread disruption ranging from power outages to flooding.

EMRS in KwaZulu-Natal said it had transported 25 patients to various hospitals, primarily in the uThungulu district, which includes the municipalities of uMhlathuze (Richards Bay), uMlalazi, Nkandla, Mbonambi, Ntambanana and Mthonjaneni (Melmoth).

Fires were also reported to have ravaged the Sisonke district (Kokstad), but EMRS said there were no fatalities.

Operations manager for Rural Metro, Dave Whitaker, said the wind had died down overnight, allowing firefighters to gain the upper hand.

He said it was still too early to estimate the damage caused in the uThungulu district.

Melmoth Protection Services officer, Derek Horne, said fires in the area had been brought under control in the early hours of today.

The smoke had abated and there was a cold wind in the area.

Last night motorists had been warned to avoid using the R66 and R34 roads.

Horne said the warning had been lifted and there were no fires near these roads.

Police spokeswoman Dir Phindile Radebe said yesterday she could confirm the deaths of two people – an 85-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife – in the Madesheni area near Nkandla.

One of the victims in Nkandla was the six-year-old daughter of Chief Bhekumuzi Zuma, a nephew of ANC president Jacob Zuma.

SABC news reported last night that the child was killed after being hit by a sheet of corrugated iron, which was ripped off during a windstorm at the chief’s homestead at Nkandla.

On Saturday night, the region’s only firefighting plane crashed near Babanango soon after take-off, killing the pilot.

Several fires were reported to have ravaged the Drakensberg area, but no casualties were reported.

Farmers in the Free State say 15 000 hectares were destroyed in a runaway veld fire between Bethlehem and Warden.

Mop-up operations started in Cape Town this morning after heavy storms at the weekend.

“There are still reports of minor localised flooding,” said disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons- Johannes, adding that light rain had continued to fall.

Most roads had been cleared after gale force winds and heavy rains battered the province.

“It played havoc with the electricity supply,” he said, adding that an increased demand for electricity and trees toppling power lines had caused outages.

Another cold front had been forecast for the coming weekend, Solomons-Johannes added.

In Sea Cow Lake, Durban, a blaze left about 70 families displaced. Among them was an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a paraffin stove that was left unattended while a shack dweller had gone to fetch water.

Steven Kweyama, a community leader in the area, said many shacks had caught alight because they were too close to one another.

Kweyama said the effects of the fire were devastating because most of the shack dwellers were left with only what they were wearing.

Shack dwellers in the Kennedy Road informal settlement in Clare Estate were affected.

Alfred Newman, divisional commander of eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services, said the fire was hostile and five hose lines were used to extinguish it.

Traffic and smoke warnings were also issued to motorists travelling near regions affected by the fires at the weekend.

Spokeswoman for the Department of Transport Nonkuleleko Mbatha said on Saturday smoke from a nearby veld fire also caused a 10-car pile-up between Cato Ridge and Camperdown.

Mbatha said it was imperative for motorists to be alert and use some sort of signal to identify themselves to the drivers in front of or behind them.

“On Saturday, as a result of veld fires in the area, there was dense smoke on the roads and visibility was poor.

“This caused the accidents. Thankfully, no one was killed and only two people were critically injured,” she said.

Weather forecaster Colin Anderson said the strongest winds at the weekend were noted in the Vryheid/Newcastle area.

He said people in KwaZulu-Natal could expect a windy week, with dry conditions as humidity was fairly low.

The Post: Illegal power cuts puts area in darkness – Sub-station bombed

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http://www.thepost.co.za/?fArticleId=4579424

Illegal power cuts puts area in darkness
Sub-station bombed

August 27, 2008 Edition 1

CHARLENE RAMJITH

AN INTIMIDATING note, left behind after a sub-station, which generates electricity in Maynard Road, Sea Cow Lake, was blown up, has sparked fear among residents.

The note, according to the concerned community who believe those responsible for blowing up the sub-station were from a nearby informal settlement, stated: “If we cannot have electricity no one can”.

The incident occurred last Wednesday night and no arrests have been made. Municipal workers repaired the sub-station and restored electricity three days later, according to frustrated resident Roy Thakurdin, 57, a self-employed businessman, who complained they are “constantly in darkness” due to frequent and illegal power cuts by vandals.

When POST visited the area recently, residents complained they had witnessed informal settlers, who reside adjacent to Maynard Road, illegally dig the road to run electrical cables, so they could obtain electricity from light poles to the informal settlement.

Residents’ electricity cuts off at least four times a week, leaving them with minimum power of four hours per day.

“This problem started two years ago before the Eskom power cuts and has recently escalated to daily power cuts.

“As ratepayers we are entitled to electricity. I tried to contact the municipality and our ward councillor, but received no response. If the matter is not dealt with, residents are going to form a trust account via an attorney and deposit our money meant for rates into that account until the problem is resolved,” said Thakurdin.

Bimal Maharaj, 47, a Hindu priest of Maynard Road, said: “I am fed up! Two Sundays ago our electricity was interrupted four times. I tried to take the issue up with the city manager, Mike Sutcliffe, and our ward councillor, Rabi Gobind, but there has been no improvement.

“The squatters’ electricity problems are the municipality’s concern, not ours. We want our electricity to be connected all the time.”

A grade 12 pupil of Effingham Secondary School, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said: “Last Thursday night I was printing work off my computer for the next day’s moderation when the lights went out.

“I have been reduced to studying by candle light which is frustrating. I am concerned about my performance in the current trial examination.”

A Telkom quality officer, said: “The electricity issue has been raging for months.

“I sent several e-mails to the municipality but have received no response.

“If the municipality can provide water and sanitation for squatters, why can’t they provide us with electricity?”

A part-time 42-year-old teacher said: “I am cooking on a gas stove and simple tasks like preparing a meal has become difficult. The food in our refrigerator is often spoilt.”

The area’s ward councillor, Rabi Gobind, said he had raised the community’s electricity concerns with council. The matter was addressed by the Infrastructure Committee which requested an official investigation into the matter.

“Once the investigation is complete and we receive permission from council to contact the land owners, in which the informal settlers are currently occupying, we can request their permission to install temporary electricity boxes on their properties, which will provide power for the settlement.”

Govind, a resident of Effingham Heights, added: “This is a lengthy process and will take time.

“I am sympathetic towards the problems residents face and am trying to resolve the issues speedily.”

Sew Harilal, the deputy head of electricity sales and service at the eThekwini Municipality, said: “We have cleared out squatters alongside the Kenville area, where residents are experiencing similar illegal power cuts and, like Kenville, we are trying to introduce 24-hour security patrols in Sea Cow Lake. These security checks will help identify the culprits.”

Nathi Nkwanyana, a senior manager of Revenue Protection of the electricity department, said security checks in Sea Cow Lake would start this week.

“We have requested more teams to join the patrol so more areas can be covered,” said Nkwanyana.

“The council is trying to allocate land for housing for informal settlers, not only in Sea Cow Lake, but all areas that face similar problems.

“If these plans progress, we will introduce an electricity card system, known as a prepaid meter, which does not require any type of connection.”

Daily News: ‘No one can have it if we can’t’

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Note how this article conflates community connections and copper cable theft – two completely different things….and how threats from above are normalized while a threat from below, with a clearly spelled out logic, is ‘bizarre’…

http://www.dailynews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20080820111834480C857906

‘No one can have it if we can’t’
20 August 2008, 12:14

By Heinz de Boer

“If you remove our cables, you had better move all the power from the area. No-one can have it if we are not allowed to (have electricity).”

This is part of a bizarre threat made to the city after vandals destroyed a mini substation and totally blacked out a large part of Sea Cow Lake from Friday. The electricity supply was restored on Tuesday.

A note was left behind holding the city to ransom and threatening more of the same if the city clamped down on illegal connections and cable theft.

Durban Electricity deputy head Roy Wienand on Tuesday confirmed a major act of sabotage in the Sea Cow Lake region, saying vandals blacked out a large area after tampering with the equipment.

Although the financial implications of the sabotage are still being calculated, a single mini substation is conservatively valued at R100 000.

Wienand said the note threatened that the same would happen if the council did not allow illegal connections to remain. He said theft would, however, continue until the socio-economic conditions behind the thefts were eradicated.

“There is generally rampant theft of electricity and illegal connections in the Sea Cow Lake area. As fast as we replace these cables they are stolen again. But unless we police 24 hours a day it will happen. Wherever there are informal settlements where poor people have not been provided with electricity the temptation to connect illegally is often too great for some,” he said.

Then there are the professional thieves who have made the wholesale theft of major electrical lines their business. Armed with chainsaws, the gangs often target rural or desolate areas where cables run.

Several private security cars were on standby at the Sea Cow Lake site on Tuesday morning as Durban Electricity workers and private contractors replaced cables and switching gear. It is understood that two transformers also had to be replaced.

The incident is only one in the bigger picture of copper cable and electricity theft, which is costing ratepayers millions each year. Wienand confirmed that about 2 percent or R30-million of all electricity bought from Eskom is stolen annually.

This figure doubles when labour costs and equipment is factored in.

Recently thieves caused a pylon at Isipingo to collapse after the mounting bolts on its four legs were removed. Three men were arrested after the incident.

The city had to fork out R2-million for the new overhead pylon. The cost to businesses in the South Durban region from this incident alone has been estimated at between R50-million and R100-million.

Durban is now looking at forming an elite anti-theft unit, following the example of the Cape “Copper Heads”.

“Ultimately, the only way to solve electricity theft is to provide everyone with power in their homes. But we are improving our patrols and will definitely not sit on our hands and do nothing. But unfortunately as Cape Town has success with these gangs, they will move up the coast, and as we have success they will move to other areas. Arrests are the only way of stopping it. We will definitely curb it,” Wienand said.

Members of the public who spot suspicious contractors or people tampering with lines can call 031 311 9611.

* This article was originally published on page 1 of The Daily News on August 20, 2008

Isolezwe: Evictions Terror Hits Sea Cow Lake Again


Update:7 March 2008 Click here for an article in the Sowetan on a protest by people made homeless in this patently illegal eviction.

Update:13 November 2007 Click here to see an article in the Daily News on the (Slums Act?) ‘transit camp’ that has been set up for the evicted families.

After 15 years of living in a settled community people are now being evicted, apparently with a court order, after the municipality sold off the public owned land (that had been popularly appropriated for a new commonage) to a private owner. Last time around people in Sea Cow Lake vigorously resisted eviction. This is not an Abahlali settlement but, from outside, it seems unlikely that the court support for the eviction would stand up to an appeal given that people are being left homeless.

If the Slums Act wasn’t directly appealed to to get this eviction through all the anti-poor and anti-shacks language around it would certainly have created a climate in which breaking down people’s homes with a bulldozer and leaving them homeless is considered ‘acceptable’….(And Mabuyakulu and Mabaso said that this was a ‘revolutionary policy’ which ‘only slum lords would fear’…)

http://www.isolezwe.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4115891

Basale benkemile bedilizelwa imijondolo

November 06, 2007 Edition 1 Click here for Pictures.

PHILI MJOLI

Basale dengwane abanikazi bemijondolo base-Sea Cow Lake ngaphandle kweTheku abadilizelwe imijondolo yabo ngoba kuthiwa umhlaba abakhe kuwo udayisiwe.

Lezi zakhamuzi zithi sekuphele iminyaka engaphezulu kuka-15 zihlala kule ndawo futhi noMkhandlu weTheku unolwazi ngabo.

Okhulumela lo mphakathi, uMnuz Simphiwe Mpithi, uthe bona bebazi ukuthi ingu-28 kwengu-98 imijondolo ezodilizwa kule ndawo esendaweni ethengiwe kodwa izolo incwadi efike nesikhonzi senkantolo ithe yonke imijondolo iyadilizwa.

“Asazi ukuthi sizoshonaphi ngoba uMnyango wezeZindlu wathembisa ukutholela laba abangu-28 indawo yokuhlala kodwa manje bonke sebeshona ezintangeni. Thina asizingenelanga emhlabeni wabantu abazimele ngenkani kodwa yibo abasifice sikhona,” kusho uMpithi.

Ikhansela lakule ndawo, uMnuz Preeth Ramchumran, lithe kuningi okungalungile okwenziwe ngesikhathi kudingidwa lolu daba.

Uthe ngokubona kwakhe ubulungiswa abenziwanga ngoba ngesikhathi befake icala enkantolo, labalahla kwathiwa bakhe kule ndawo ngokungemthetho.

“Ngaphezu kwalokho sacela ukuthi bafake isicelo sokwedlulisa icala kodwa konke lokhu akwenzekanga. Bebelokhu besithembisa ukusishayela ucingo kodwa lutho. Kuyadabukisa ukuthi abantu abampofu kuleli abakwazi ukusizakala ngakwezomthetho,” usho kanje.

Uthe lo mphakathi awungeni ngaphansi kohlelo lokudilizwa kwemijondolo ngoba kade wafika.

Uthe abanikazi abasha bale ndawo bale baphetha ukubambisana naye ekusombululeni le nkinga maqede bathenga amapulangwe ashibhile bawanika lo mphakathi bathi awuzibonele ukuthi uzoshonaphi.

“Abanalo ilungelo lokudiliza imijondolo engekho endaweni yabo, ngakho-ke sizobuyela enkantolo,” usho kanje .

UNksz Khululiwe Goqo nezingane zakhe ezimbili bebekhungathekile bengazi ukuthi bazoshonaphi.

Kubukeka sengathi kusekude ukufinyelelwa esivumelwaneni ngalolu daba ngoba abaphathi bale ndawo bathi bazi ukuthi indawo ngeyabo kanti necala baliwina enkantolo.

Ngesikhathi Isolezwe liye kule ndawo izolo lixoxe nabaphathi be-Exotic Kitchens okuthiwa bathenge le ndawo.

“Thina sidilize okusendaweni yethu futhi imijondolo esiyidilizile ingaphansi kuka-20,” usho kanje wangafuna ukuphe-ndula eminye imibuzo.