Residents left in the dark as Msunduzi confirms work stoppage

The Msunduzi Municipality has confirmed that the ongoing electricity and water outages affecting large parts of Pietermaritzburg are the result of a work stoppage within its electricity supply services department. The municipality said the stoppage has significantly affected responses to power outages and other technical faults across the city. Msunduzi said that management has since met with the affected employees, who were earlier seen gathering along Havelock Road, and that urgent steps are being taken to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

“Due to the stoppage, consumers may experience slower response times to reported power outages, faults or technical work,” Msunduzi said in a statement. The municipality is taking steps to minimise disruption to residents and essential services during this period. The confirmation comes amid growing frustration from residents after several suburbs were left without electricity from Tuesday afternoon.

Affected areas include Chase Valley, Montrose, Cascades, Bombay Heights, Clarendon and parts of the CBD. Ward councillor for Chase Valley and Montrose, Reggie Khanyile, said he had been informed that municipal electricians had downed tools. “It has come to my attention that electricians have downed tools and, as a result, no teams have been dispatched to attend to the outage,” Khanyile said. He added that the situation was being closely monitored and that updates would be shared as more information became available.