A fragile sense of normalcy returned to parts of East Lynne on Wednesday as electricity was restored to many businesses and households after a devastating 12-day outage. However, the relief is tempered by deep-seated frustrations over infrastructure vandalism and a perceived absence of law enforcement, which residents say allowed the crisis to persist.
The widespread blackout began after a fire at the critical Koedoespoort substation. While City of Tshwane teams have worked to repair ongoing cable faults, restoration has been slow and inconsistent. As of Wednesday, approximately 70% of affected consumers have had power restored, leaving 30% still without electricity.
The human and economic toll has been severe. Residents reported losses of food and medication, with some unable to operate life-saving medical devices. Businesses faced ruinous setbacks.
“For us, it’s a good thing,” said a motor spares shop owner, moments after power returned to her business. “The business was going down… we still have to pay rent, we have to pay the workers.” She expressed gratitude to the municipal workers, stating they “work tirelessly the whole night.”
The narrative of community resilience was echoed by a local community leader, who detailed the grueling 13-day struggle. “Businesses have suffered tremendously,” she said, praising a coalition of community members, councillors, security groups, and volunteers who patrolled streets and assisted technicians.
It is this community-led patrol effort that underscores a major point of contention: the lack of a visible police presence. According to the community leader, police were “non-existent” during the crisis, only appearing after residents began protesting.
“Police presence was non-existent,” she stated bluntly. “The community started groups to patrol the streets at night, giving up their sleep… The police, they weren’t here.”
This vacuum, residents argue, emboldens vandals who repeatedly steal cables, sabotaging repair efforts and prolonging outages. A senior citizen, ‘Uncle Marcel’, described taking extraordinary measures. He stayed on site until 4 a.m. to guard newly laid cables in open trenches. “My main aim was just to close off the trenches… because of the vandalism of the whole system,” he said. “They’ve been chopping and cutting cables like nobody’s business.”
Looking forward, while grateful for the restored power, the community’s demand is clear. They are calling on the City of Tshwane for consistent infrastructure upkeep and, most urgently, on the South African Police Service to establish a reliable patrol system in the area.
“The volunteers don’t have to take their time away,” the community leader implored. “They don’t have to patrol.”
For now, East Lynne celebrates a hard-won victory, but the underlying issues of security and vulnerable infrastructure remain starkly unaddressed, leaving residents to wonder how long the lights will stay on.
