Newton Park continues to face ongoing complaints about the state of its power infrastructure, as residents on Handsworth Street and Peter Graham Avenue expressed mounting frustration with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s handling of repairs.
In October 2023, Handsworth Street experienced a major power outage and severe voltage surges that affected residents between 1st and 2nd Avenues.
The incident, while temporarily resolved by the Electricity Department, left a trail of incomplete work and unsafe conditions, sparking ongoing complaints about the condition in which the streets were left.
Ward 7 Councillor, Brendon Pegram, recalled the chaos surrounding the initial incident: “I remember that day vividly. I stood outside in the rain while the teams excavated the residents’ verges, trying to locate the fault. By the end, most properties were left with heaps of dug-up soil, and the area was in complete disarray.”
According to Pegram, repeated attempts to escalate the matter were met with little accountability.
“I made direct contact with the then Executive Director of Electricity and Energy at the time, asking for urgent intervention. Shortly after that, I was blocked – completely cut off from further communication. That was the level of responsiveness we dealt with.”
Over the months following the outage, Pegram said he sent numerous correspondences to electricity supervisors, acting city managers, and executive directors, requesting site meetings and progress updates.
However, residents’ concerns about hazardous, dug-up verges and incomplete reinstatement work continued to be ignored.
“Many residents grew so fed up with the inaction that they began to cover the holes themselves,” said Pegram.
“Some spent their own money to restore the verges and redo aspects of their properties that had been damaged. It’s unacceptable that hard-working, rate-paying citizens were forced to shoulder a burden created by the municipality’s negligence.”
The frustrations reached new heights recently when a similar situation unfolded on Peter Graham Avenue. The Electricity Department was called to address an issue but once again left verges on both sides of the street in complete disarray.
Adding to the concerns is a temporary overhead cable that stretches precariously across the road from one tree to another.
Describing the situation, Pegram said, “I raised concerns about this ridiculous temporary connection, and their solution was to come out, climb the tree, and secure the cable higher using cable ties. Is this what the department considers a permanent fix? How can we trust them to address these critical infrastructure issues when they continue to take such an unprofessional approach?”
Requests to replace the temporary cables with a permanent connection, including one at 9 Handsworth Street, have gone unanswered despite Pegram’s repeated follow-ups.
“This department is dragging its feet. It’s frustrating, and it’s clear the administration is failing the very residents they are supposed to serve.”
The unresolved situations have not only inconvenienced residents but also created significant safety hazards.
Exposed trenches, unstable terrain, and hanging overhead cables pose risks to pedestrians and motorists, and Pegram notes the growing concern for children’s safety within the area.
“The affected residents are tired of this level of incompetence,” said Pegram. “They aren’t asking for favours. They are paying rates and taxes as responsible members of the city, and they deserve verges restored to their original state and safe, permanent electrical connections.”
His concerns also highlight larger issues of governance and accountability within the municipality.
“What the municipality offers to its residents – those who fund its functioning through their hard-earned money – is nothing short of disgraceful,” Pegram declared.
Looking to the future, residents and their ward councillor are urging the municipality to take immediate action to resolve these crises. Transparency, communication, and speed in addressing the residents’ frustrations are demanded to restore trust and improve service delivery.
“Our people need to see tangible progress,” Pegram asserted. “We need agents of change to step up within the municipality to ensure the community does not continue to suffer under bureaucracy and inefficiency.”
After numerous attempts by the PE Express to get a comment, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality had not responded at the time of going to print on Monday.
