MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – Disgruntled residents in need of prepaid electricity units scurried from depot to depot only to sleep in the dark the whole weekend.

One irritated client said that he went to the Makhado Escom depot opposite the OK on Saturday, August 28, only to find that the one depot where he usually got served had run out of units. With him was a long queue of dissatisfied clients who were all turned away. He then rushed to the Eltivillas depot where he found the same scenario: a long queue and no units.

“I tried Mbokota, down the mountain from Elim - no units; then Chavani - also no units. We went to Bungeni, but the depot was closed. I phoned someone at Nwamatatani village, who told me that the units there were depleted as well. We slept in the dark the whole weekend, using candles, which are dangerous when you have young children at home.”

The client did not want to disclose his identity. He said that he feared that the “new owners” of the Escom depots would hunt him down if he criticized the fact that they did not handle their finances well and “bought too few units.”

Mr Tshiofhi Ratshitanga, Communication Practitioner for Escom for the Thohoyandou customer service area, confirmed on Monday that Escom subcontracted the sale of electricity units to individuals in the respective communities. Mr Ratshitanga explained that Escom changed to the new system two or three months ago in order “to curb fraudulent purchases.” Escom requested the ward councillor of the community to identify a vendor who would be able to run the business.

Upon investigation, Mr Ratshitanga found that the vendor in Eltivillas experienced a breakdown in the dispensing unit, thus a faulty machine, but the vendor had also not purchased enough stock of electricity units. The vendor was warned and “the matter resolved.”

At Makhado, the vendor did not foresee the end-of-the-month rush and was under-stocked. He was informed that sufficient stock should be purchased and stock of electricity units be kept up to the minimum levels.

In the villages, clients found that it was the rule rather than the exception that vendors of electricity units were out of stock.

Mr Ratshitanga said that the new system was still experiencing teething problems.

“We asked responsible persons in the community to see how best they can help the vendor to purchase sufficient stock levels,” he said.

“If a businessman is not going to cope, Escom requires community leaders to identify an alternative person.”

Ratshitanga said that Escom renders an excellent training service to vendors by qualified staff who supply on-the-job training at the vendors depot.