Twala Street ablaze as residents torch the rollout of smart meters.
Image: Supplied
The streets of Ackerville and Lynnville erupted in fiery defiance yesterday, as residents turned pavements into protest lines against the municipality’s contentious rollout of smart meters.
What began as quiet frustration over the municipality’s lack of transparency has now escalated into open resistance. The community has made it clear, they will not accept what they believe is, yet another burden disguised as progress.
The municipality’s announcement to replace old meter boxes with new smart ones has been met with suspicion. For many here, the meters are not a symbol of modernisation but of exclusion.
Community activist Thule Bafedi points to the grinding reality of unemployment in eMalahleni. “Most people in our town are not working because some of the jobs are taken up by foreign nationals,” he said. He added that the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is often out of reach due to age restrictions, while the youth who do secure placements struggle with jobs that are not sustainable. Against this backdrop, many residents are left unable to afford electricity.
Against this economic despair, the smart meter rollout feels like a cruel joke. Residents complain that the devices consume electricity at an alarming rate, draining pockets already stretched thin. “If people with good jobs are complaining about the ridiculous consumption, what happens to families surviving on a single SASSA grant or worse, with no income at all?” asks Bafedi.
The numbers are staggering. Some households report spending R500 in just four days on electricity. For families already living on the margins, this is not just inconvenient it’s catastrophic. “Residents can’t afford smart meters,” Bafedi insists.
But electricity is only part of the problem. Service delivery in Emalahleni has long been a sore point. Roads remain riddled with potholes, refuse collection is inconsistent, and water and electricity interruptions are routine. The smart meter saga is simply the latest flashpoint in a long history of broken promises.
Municipal official Cllr. Thabang Mathebula, MMC for Technical Services, has defended the rollout. Speaking during an interview at Emalahleni FM, he argued that the plan is aimed at stabilising the municipality’s finances. He explained that part of the rollout is designed to strengthen revenue collection and ensure accurate billing systems through the use of smart meters.
Mathebula went further, stating that another reason for the rollout is the debt review the municipality is under by Eskom. He insists that the smart box is essentially the same as the old prepaid meter, with the difference being that residents will now be able to monitor their consumption in real time and regulate their usage.
That explanation has done little to soothe residents who feel squeezed by a system designed to extract rather than support. For them, the smart meter is not progress but punishment a reminder that in eMalahleni, survival is a luxury few can afford.
