NUM is disappointed with Eskom Kwazulu-Natal snail's pace in dealing with the electricity crisis in the townships surrounding the Pietermaritzburg area

Press Statement, 09 June 2022

NUM is disappointed with Eskom Kwazulu-Natal snail's pace in dealing with the electricity crisis in the townships surrounding the Pietermaritzburg area

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in KwaZulu-Natal is dissatisfied and disappointed by the snail's pace by Eskom in resolving the community electricity problems. The community from the areas around Pietermaritzburg have on the 8th of June 2022 gathered and blocked all access points to the Eskom Mkhondeni and Edendale CNC in KwaZulu-Natal. 

"The community members are getting fed up by the excuses made by Eskom to them. NUM is a majority union in Eskom KwaZulu-Natal and its members were trapped inside and the community was hostile. Eskom's response to NUM is that there are illegal connections and that the load reduction is deployed in these communities which are the main frustration to the community members," said Siyabonga Ngwenya Kwazulu-Natal Full-time Shop steward.

"We call upon Eskom in KwaZulu-Natal to seize putting the lives of our members at risk by deploying this load reduction tactic to these hostile communities around KwaZulu-Natal. The load reduction tactic is inhumane to our communities, in the current state of the province which is dealing with floods and other ills due to high unemployment and the COVID-19 negative impacts. This provokes the communities in KwaZulu-Natal to target our members," Ngwenya added. 

The NUM has noted that it is not the first time the communities of Pietermaritzburg come to protest. It has become their regular exercise.  We do not want to hear that there were any casualties in those protests. We will hold Eskom KwaZulu-Natal, led by General Manager Agnes Mlambo, solely accountable if anything happens. Already as NUM, we hold the KwaZulu-Natal Operating Unit accountable for the Kidnapped members in those Eskom sites. 

For more detailed information, please contact:

Siyabonga Ngwenya, NUM KwaZulu-Natal Energy Sector Full-time shop steward,  076 302 1642

The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257
Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167