Roads leading to tourist attractions, including the Howick Falls in Howick, were blocked on Monday morning by community members opposed to their electricity meters being audited.
uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas said protesters were refusing to allow the municipality to conduct electricity meter audits, to check for illegal connections and the by-passing of meters.
“Please note that the R617 near Mpophomeni and the bridge over the uMngeni River near Howick Falls are closed due to small groups of people blocking the roads illegally,” said the mayor in a statement on Monday morning.
Pappas said the municipality loses about R80 million a year due to electricity theft. This is money that is taken from other service delivery items such as roads, street lights, grass cutting, libraries, etc.
“Unfortunately it is not sustainable for the municipality and ratepayers to continue to carry this burden, especially when there are people who can pay but refuse to.
“The municipality offers 200kwh free basic electricity for those who cannot afford electricity (R5000 household income or less qualify). The highest of any municipality in the province. Please encourage your family, friends and employees to pay for electricity,” he said.
The protest came days after the municipality said it had become aware that some councillors from the opposition were agitating the community to protest against the municipality. This after the municipality had refused to restore power.
“It has come to our attention that councillors from some political parties were in Mevana today (Saturday) agitating some community members. Mevana residents are being encouraged by these councillors to block roads and march to the municipality. This after power has been off since Thursday after an infrastructure fault
“ The municipality will not restore electricity until all meters have been audited. The municipality was ready to carry this work out on Friday but was prevented from doing so. Municipal employees and contractors have been threatened and even held hostage in this area before,” said Pappas.
The Mercury