Elderly residents forced to protest after electricity cut at Lenasia old age home

What began as another unresolved municipal issue escalated into an extraordinary sight on Wednesday, July 8, when elderly residents of Nirvana Haven Old Age Home in Lenasia took to the streets, burning tyres and blocking Nirvana Drive in protest after electricity to approximately seven units was disconnected.

For many of the residents, the power outage was more than an inconvenience. Several are elderly, frail and dependent on electrically powered medical equipment, including oxygen machines, while others rely on electricity for medication and their daily well-being.

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As smoke billowed across Nirvana Drive and traffic came to a standstill, one resident summed up the frustration that had reached boiling point.

“This is the language that our government understands,” the resident said.

The protest attracted the Lenasia SAPS, JMPD, the Lenasia Community Policing Forum, ward committee members, community activists, local security companies, and concerned residents. Throughout the afternoon, officials and community members scrambled to make calls to resolve the crisis.

The following day, City of Johannesburg speaker of council, Councillor Margaret Arnolds, visited the facility alongside City Power and other stakeholders after ward nine councillor, Jakes Karolia, was unable to attend due to illness.

Arnolds was also scheduled to chair a public meeting with ward nine residents at the Lenasia Civic Centre on Monday, July 13, but the meeting was later cancelled.

“City Power has to explain to the residents why their electricity was cut. We are now trying to get the residents registered on the Expanded Social Package (ESP) so that their electricity can be restored,” she said.

Although residents also raised several long-standing concerns affecting life at the home, discussions largely centred on the electricity crisis, with other issues postponed for future engagements.

In response to questions from the Lenasia Rising Sun, City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena said the seven units were disconnected during a routine meter audit after inspectors allegedly found electricity meters that had been bypassed or bridged and were not vending electricity.

Mangena said the utility conducted door-to-door inspections and maintained that evidence of meter tampering had been found in all seven units. He added that, in terms of the city’s bylaws, customers found to have bypassed electricity connections are liable for penalties exceeding R14, 000.

City Power further stated that audits in Lenasia South Extension 10 showed that 270 customers, representing 38, 3% of the area, were not vending electricity, while 435 customers were purchasing electricity. On Nirvana Drive specifically, 30 customers (23, 08%) were found to be non-vending compared to 100 customers (76, 92%) who were actively buying electricity.

According to the utility, these findings formed part of an ongoing normalisation programme aimed at protecting infrastructure, improving network reliability and ensuring fairness to paying customers.

The utility acknowledged that the affected residents are elderly and confirmed that following Thursday’s engagement it had decided to normalise the entire facility rather than only the affected units. Electricity had already been restored to three residents immediately after the meeting, while the remaining units would be reconnected as the normalisation process continues.

City Power also committed to assisting qualifying residents with registration for the city’s Expanded Social Package, which provides free basic electricity and exemptions from certain monthly charges for households earning R7, 800 or less per month, including pensioners, people living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Residents have also appealed for a flat-rate electricity system, arguing that many pensioners cannot afford prepaid electricity on limited monthly incomes.

While City Power said such an arrangement is not currently provided for, it encouraged qualifying residents to apply for the Expanded Social Package.

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While City Power insists the disconnections were lawful and necessary, the images of elderly residents standing beside burning tyres in search of answers have reignited questions about how quickly authorities respond when society’s most vulnerable are pushed to breaking point.

For the residents of Nirvana Haven, the lights may soon be back on, but many say they should never have had to set tyres alight before anyone came to listen.