Residents face hunger and hardship due to Eskom in Thornville power crisis
Thornville resident Nokuzola Makhaye, 64, shares her struggles as a power outage leaves her without food and essential services, highlighting the dire consequences of Eskom's failure to restore electricity.
Image: File
Sixty-four-year-old Nokuzola Makhaye, who suffers from a stroke and other health issues, faced a distressing situation this week when she was unable to take her daily medication.
This unfortunate circumstance arose from her lack of a proper meal, directly linked to Eskom's failure to restore electricity in a timely manner.
Makhaye, whose name has been changed for privacy, is among the residents of Thornville in Pietermaritzburg, who were plunged into darkness following a severe thunderstorm that struck the city this week.
The prolonged power outage left Makhaye in a precarious position. Not only was she unable to prepare food, but the absence of electricity for over two days, resulted in her refrigerator's perishable items spoiling due to soaring temperatures, which reached 30°C during the day and only dropped to 21°C at night on Wednesday.
While waiting for Eskom to restore power on Wednesday and Thursday, Makhaye was forced to alter her usual routine. To take her necessary medication, she resorted to eating slices of bread washed down with sugar water instead of her customary tea.
“Every morning, I wake up to eat porridge, which my grandchildren prepare for me, but for two days now I have not eaten my porridge.
“I had to eat bread and sugar water yesterday three times (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and this morning (Wednesday) so that I can have something in my stomach and be able to take my medication,” she said.
Makhaye expressed her distress over not being able to take a bath due to her fear of cold water.
Another resident, who chose to remain anonymous, shared his own struggles during the outage. He mentioned that his children had to go to school after taking a cold bath that morning and without having breakfast.
“Even that water has run out because in order to draw water, I have to use a pump, which operates with electricity.
“I cannot flush the toilet, and the smell in the house is becoming unbearable,” he said.
He also voiced his concerns about the meat and vegetables in his home, which were beginning to rot.
“If the electricity does not come back today (Wednesday), I will definitely have to find money to buy groceries, and where do I find that money at this time of the month,” he lamented.
Eskom’s KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Joyce Zingoni, has yet to respond to the inquiries sent to her on Thursday morning.
The story will be updated as soon as a response is received.