In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, the Department of the Premier revealed that the impact of rolling blackouts have been so destructive on Cape Access e-centres that two facilities had to temporarily shut down due to break-ins, vandalism, and robberies that occurred during loadshedding hours.

The reply further revealed that blackouts have resulted in e-centres experiencing challenges such as continuous downtime, power surges placing equipment at risk, delays in staff training, a drop in user sessions, and increased complaints about service delivery brought on by load shedding.

Cape Access e-centres have also experienced infrastructure and equipment damage as a result of Eskom’s sponsored rolling blackouts. As of now, there are 62 faulty network points at e-centres which means 62 workstations are currently not working. In addition to this, UPS’s installed at e-centres to protect the project’s server are prone to failure due to the blackouts.

Rolling blackouts also resulted in a break-in at an e-centre in Wellington. The theft of a server, a UPS and two all-in-one PCs resulted in considerable expenditure for the replacement of the stolen equipment alone. The centre, thus, had to temporarily close down so that the municipality could repair the damaged infrastructure. A robbery that occurred in Oudtshoorn during loadshedding also left another e-centre severely damaged while at Sonskynvallei e-centre in Mossel Bay, four monitors could not be switched on after loadshedding.

Christopher Fry, MPP says: “Eskom’s rolling blackouts are now actively excluding the residents of the Western Cape from accessing opportunities. For many communities, e-centres provide a crucial service, of not only a connection to the internet, but also the tools needed to find job opportunities and to apply for work.

For many communities in the rural Western Cape, access to the internet remains a challenge. Through the introduction of e-centres, the Western Cape government has allowed countless residents in these communities access to government services and other opportunities.

However, while the ANC national government stumble around with broken promises on how to fix the energy crisis, the Western Cape is investing R1 billion to address this crisis and ensure that residents are protected against Eskom and rolling blackouts.”

 

Issued by Christopher Fry, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Premier and Constitutional Matters