The ongoing taxi strike has forced Eskom to pull out of more areas in Cape Town, citing safety concerns.
“Various incidents of vandalism, looting and violence continue to be reported across the province and this has left Eskom with no choice but to instruct staff not to enter the volatile areas. We don’t compromise the safety of our staff. Apart from Khayelitsha, Delft, Belhar, Du Noon, Philippi and Fisantekraal, the withdrawal of services is now extended to the areas of Bloekombos and Wallacedene in Kraaifontein, Witsand in Atlantis, Plettenberg Bay and Worcester,” Eskom said in a statement.
This will affect the electricity restoration times to these areas and only once the areas were declared safe will operators be dispatched to continue work.
“Eskom will exercise extreme caution when delivering services to other Eskom supply areas. We urge customers to remain patient and follow the channels made available to log a fault”.
The strike has seen parts of the province, mainly Cape Town, being plagued by acts of violence including torching of cars and buses. The impasse between the provincial government including the City of Cape Town intensified following the impounding of minibus taxis last Monday. The taxi industry has accused the City of selectively applying by-laws by only targeting their drivers while ordinary motorists did not have their cars impounded over the same offences.
In its afternoon update, the City said: “Our enforcement services continue to respond to sporadic incidents of taxi-related unrest in parts of the city, including stone-throwing and protest action.
“During the course of the afternoon, SAPS and Law Enforcement arrested nine suspects for public violence in Kraaifontein, which takes the total arrests today to at least 44.Our staff are also going around, removing tyres and debris from affected roadways, and monitoring hotspot areas including Philippi, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein and the N7.”
The City also said it was aware of threats against its facilities, infrastructure and staff and were keeping a close watch to mitigate any risks that may arise.
Cape Times