Load-shedding has become a word the majority of South Africans do not only dread, but hate.
But, for Krugersdorp residents (of which I am one) it has become a dirty word, almost equal to some of the worst swearwords you can think of. (In my case, it is almost worse than decaf.)
You might think that load-shedding can’t be that bad, I mean, how difficult can it be to plan for these inconveniences? Especially if you receive a detailed schedule of what stage your area is on and when exactly the power will be switched off.
And, to be honest, I will agree with you but, for the Krugersdorpers, this is not the case. We never know when we will be without power, as we have three different schedules on the official Eskom app, as well as a few unofficial ones being passed around like Halloween candy.
Because of our municipality’s failure to pay its debt to Eskom, we are being punished and have become the victims of an excessive amount of load-shedding. It seems as if we are caught in the middle of a political and financial fight, keeping us hostage and resulting in us having to bear the brunt. There is just no way for us to know when we will actually be lucky enough to have some electricity, making our everyday routine (as well as planning) almost impossible.
As a mother of two teenagers (one of them a matric learner) load-shedding is very frustrating. Not only are they lost without their technology (and cut off from their whole world, apparently), assignments and homework can also not be completed. I do not even want to think about the strain it has on electronics, fridges and freezers.
It does help a bit to strengthening our family bonds, as it forces us to spend more time in each other’s company (I must admit, they are actually quite nice people, my family). But, as soon as we have exhausted all topics to talk about, what do you do to pass the time?
What do you, our loyal readers, do when there is load-shedding? Share your survival tips with us on roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za, as it seems I will be needing them to make it through at least another 18 months of it. I would love to hear from you.
