Ntombi Dlamini lights her evenings with an open flame. The partially blind Midvaal resident has been cooking over an open fire since June, and the burns and cuts on her body tell the story of every meal she has tried to make in the dark.
She is one of 116 households in Lakeside Estate that have been without electricity for months, a situation that turns ordinary tasks into real physical danger, especially for residents living with disabilities or health conditions.
Before power can be restored, the local authority is requiring households to pay fines of R1,500 each for illegal connections. For families already stretched thin, that figure sits between them and a working light switch.
With the 2026 elections on the horizon, stories like this one are shaping the conversation about what accountability actually looks like at the local government level. Whether Midvaal's leadership responds before a ballot is cast is the question residents are watching closely.
Originally published by AllAfrica · editor@health-e.org.za (Health-e).