Govt departments without electricity
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“We ran out of power because the Department of Education bought diesel for a generator that cost a lot of money,’ said an official working at the Social Development office. ‘And no one seems to have a solution to the problem or can buy more diesel.”
An official from SASSA said: “It is painful turning people away because we cannot offer services they need. They have no money to travel back and forth to these offices. And this is a crucial time when the department is upgrading social grant pay cards. All the systems need to be functional”.
A community member, Mrs Mazaleni from Magwa location, told OurHealth: “I only have a set amount of money for transporting me and my three grand children, and now we were told to come back at another time because there is no electricity. Things are not supposed to be like this because the deadline is very close and I will have to re-apply for a foster care grant again”.
Another official from Social Development said: “Things got even worse when my supervisor asked for a report that was filed in desktop computer, but the systems were not functioning because there is no electricity, so I had to drive to the nearby town Flagstaff (which is 45km from Lusiksiki) to finish my work.”
Public Works officials could not be reached for comment. – OurHealth/Health-e News Service
Tandeka Vinjwa-Hlongwane is an OurHealth Citizen Journalist reporting from Lusikisiki in the OR Tambo health district in the Eastern Cape.
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