After pressure from the FF Plus, the Ekurhuleni Metro’s Electricity Department finally restored power to the PAX Mentis Academy, a school for children with disabilities and autism in Kempton Park.
The school reported the problem immediately, but the Metro only responded six days later.
Because the facility houses children with autism, gas appliances cannot be used, so, the children had to live in the cold and dark.
The FF Plus stepped in and put pressure on the Electricity Department to repair the cable fault.
The Metro finally yielded and appointed a private contractor. The cable fault was rectified within a matter of hours.
Ekurhuleni’s Electricity Department likes to boast that it repairs power problems within 48 hours. But at present, that is clearly not the case.
The FF Plus had previously asked the Department to manage technical personnel’s overtime more strictly to ensure that at least one technician is available day and night to resolve power problems.
The Metro’s unsympathetic attitude towards vulnerable children is inexcusable.
