Urgent call for electricity: Khayelitsha residents march to Parliament with seven-day ultimatum

More than 500 Khayelitsha residents marched to Parliament on Thursday, demanding electricity and improved service delivery for informal settlements in Ward 99.

Community members from Endlovini, Nkandla, and New Monwabisi Park informal settlements, led by their councillor, Lonwabo Mqina, travelled by train to Cape Town and marched through the streets singing Struggle songs.

Mqina said the protest followed an earlier march in July.

“We handed in the memorandum of our grievances, but didn’t get any response. When we engaged with the Eskom management in Khayelitsha, we were told that there were no funds to build a substation in Endlovini. We asked Gwede Mantashe to come, but he didn’t come, and never responded to the memorandum. That is why we decided to come to Parliament,” he said.

He added that the community members also have to share one toilet with 300 other people.

“The ideal ratio should be one toilet for every five families.”

The group handed over their latest memorandum to the chief of staff in the Presidency, giving the government seven days to respond.

“If nothing happens, we are going to come back and sleep in front of Parliament,” Mqina warned.

Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo received the memorandum and addressed residents.

“I will speak to the leadership about the lack of service delivery. On Wednesday, we were in Khayelitsha, Taiwan. We saw that Cape Town is a tale of two cities,” he said.

“Residents have been living in shacks for a long time. When it rains, their homes are flooded, and streets are flooded with sewage. The toilets are supplied, but there is no dignity. How can people go outside to the toilet?”

Mahlobo advised residents to approach the South African Human Rights Commission to report poor living conditions, saying their constitutional rights were being infringed.

Resident Aviwe Gwe said she has been living in New Monwabisi Park for 10 years.

“We still don't have electricity. It is very dangerous; our homes have been burnt down because of illegal connections. 

“Women have been raped, and we get robbed. That is why we decided to come to Parliament to speak to the president to help us with this.”

ANC Dullah Omar regional Chairperson Ndithini Thyido said the issue of electricity had already been raised within the party by its Ward 99 branch.

“Our branch in Ward 99 made us aware of the service delivery situation affecting the community, especially electricity. Those who already have electricity become victims of others who illegally connect, which creates instability,” he said.

“We are encouraged by the activism of the branch. It’s really encouraging for an ANC branch to pick up an issue and see it through so that it reaches the government. Service delivery should not be taxed to the point where our people fight among themselves.”

Thyido added that while the ANC itself must confront such matters, branches were the “basic unit” expected to escalate them from the community to the government.

The memorandum outlines three main demands: reliable and continuous power supply, expansion of access to electricity, and emergency response planning. It calls for Eskom and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to stabilise the grid, extend services to unelectrified areas, such as New Monwabisi Park and Zimampilo, and build new substations.

The document is signed by Ward 99 leaders, including Councillor Mqina, attendee Abongile Timane, and ward Chairperson Pashu Ntombekhaya.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za