Cape Town – A 59-year-old Soweto man collapsed and died on Thursday, 21 November, while waiting in a queue to update his prepaid electricity meter in Orlando East, Soweto.
The Sowetan named the man as Joseph Fikile Busakwe, reporting that he had left home at 4.15am to queue outside Orlando East Community Hall, only to discover there were almost 500 people ahead of him.
His wife received a call shortly afterwards that her husband had fainted, a relative told the Citizen.
Paramedics later declared that he had died.
“Eskom is not doing justice to the people. People had to be here from as early as 4am,” Soweto resident Kathleen Pinky Moditšwe told IOL.
Another eyewitness told the Citizen bystanders had tried for almost an hour to resuscitate him, but to no avail.
People have been queuing in across the country to update their prepaid meters before 24 November, when a new token identification system is implemented. If residents have not updated their systems, they will not be able to buy electricity tokens.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa warned that users who had not updated their meters by 24 November would have to instal new meters at their own expense.
He said as of Tuesday, more than 2 million meters still had to be upgraded, and that the deadline could not be extended.
“It’s not extendable, it’s a technical issue. We can’t extend it. It’s a hard stop. On November 24 if you have not recoded, you are sitting with a different problem. Beyond November 24 we have to physically remove the meter and that comes at a cost. It’s a significant cost, and that cost must be borne by the consumer because we have done everything possible,” said Ramokgopa.
Authorities in eThekwini and Cape Town said the upgrades in their municipalities were up to date.
To update your meter, start by checking if your pre-paid meter is on KRN1 (not updated) or KRN2 (updated). Enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your meter keypad. If your meter displays “2,” “2.2,” or “r2: t2,” it has been upgraded to KRN2. If it… pic.twitter.com/jKgtfI7R0U
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 21, 2024
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Picture: X/@Eskom_SA
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