The Bushbuckridge electricity crisis has prompted Cosatu to call for immediate action from Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu.
Despite the nationwide ban on rolling power cuts, the Bushbuckridge local municipality is accused by the trade union federation of passing off loadshedding as “load reduction”.
Cosatu issued a statement expressing its “utter disgust” with the continuous “perpetual loadshedding,” which occurs between 5am and 7am and again between 7pm and 9pm.
Fortune Ndlovu, the secretary of Cosatu Bushbuckridge, denounced the municipality’s actions as intentional and unfair.
“The municipality has decided to exclude Bushbuckridge residents from basic services enjoyed in other areas,” he said.
The blackouts “adversely affect both workers and schoolchildren in so many ways”, according to Cosatu.
“Workers wake up without electricity and return home to prepare dinner in total darkness,” said the trade union federation.
“Children must attend school without warm baths and struggle to complete homework under candlelight,” he said.
The outages have also worsened Bushbuckridge’s water crisis, as borehole-reliant communities struggle to pump water.
Premier urged to intervene
In essence, the blackouts “take away their right to access sufficient water as enshrined in the constitution of the republic”, according to Ndlovu.
Cosatu has urged the premier to step in, stating that the municipality’s inability to supply dependable electricity needs to be addressed by his office.
“The federation … therefore, calls on the premier of Mpumalanga to immediately intervene and reign on the matter to liberate people of Bushbuckridge from unfair treatment caused by senseless and unpatriotic managers,” the union said.
Additionally, the trade union federation called for a thorough investigation into what it called a “heinous act” committed by local authorities.
Fhumulani Thovakale, a spokesman for the Bushbuckridge local municipality, did not reply to questions from Sunday World.
But according to provincial government spokesperson George Mthethwa, the premier’s office would communicate with the municipality.
For now, the residents remain trapped in daily four-hour blackouts with no clear resolution in sight.
