By Staff Reporter
XIHOKO – Residents of Xihoko and neighbouring villages have been left without electricity for five consecutive days after criminals vandalised and stole parts of the power infrastructure.
Communities affected include Xihoko, Msiphani, Joppi, Nyakelani, parts of Mawa Block 7, and Nkambako. The outage began last week after thieves reportedly cut down poles to steal a 22kV feeder Ezrato conductor, leaving the entire network in the area severely damaged.
According to the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Eskom has been notified and a team of technicians has been dispatched to assess the damage and begin repairs.
In a brief social media statement, the municipality apologised to residents for the inconvenience and assured them that efforts are underway to restore power as soon as possible.
The extended blackout has caused major disruptions, with local businesses struggling to function and households suffering food losses due to prolonged refrigeration outages.
Residents continue to express frustration as they wait for electricity to be restored.
