The senior citizens of eZizeni eNkosini in Tshatshu Village near Zwelitsha Township are frustrated at having to live without electricity for the last 15 years.
More than 150 families are currently living in the area.
“We arrived in this place in 2003 and it was an open field before families planted maize, pumpkins, wheat, potatoes, cabbages etc. Most families arrived in 2010,” said Nontsika Tshatshu, who is the wife of Phakamisa Chief Lindile Tshatshu.
Chief Lindile was not available for comment at the time of going to print because he was in a meeting with other local chiefs at Zwelitsha Hotel in Zone 3.
“We applied for electricity as a community but the BCM officials said it is not easy to install electricity here because we are far from Tshatshu Village,” Tshatshu said.
According to Tshatshu, a councillor from Ward 44 promised to sort out the matter but left the post before any results materialised.
His replacement promised to resolve the issue last year, but says the problem was still being addressed.
Many political parties have also promised to come in and fix the problem, Tshatshu said.
“We are struggling even today due to lack of electricity. My husband and I finished building our house in 2005 but it is a hopeless situation and no one cares [about the electricity problem].
“Some residents are having to use paraffin stoves, solar power, gas and generators to power up their homes,” Tshatshu said.
“We are struggling with many things in this area. It’s very difficult to read papers, books and access televisions and radio stations. We cannot buy anything that requires electricity like a fridge or washing machine because of this.”
A resident who remained anonymous said the government had shown that it did not care and must not forget that this community voted and paid taxes.
“We want electricity installed. So we are warning our government to please sort the matter out as soon as possible.”
Attempts to reach BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya for comment was unsuccessful at the time of going to print.