News24 | ON THE ROAD | Electricity cost surge sees Thembalethu residents cook over wood fires

Smoke billows from a burning rubbish heap in Thembalethu, George, where residents say service delivery lags behind wealthier parts of the town.

Storm Simpson/News24

• The DA, FF Plus and the ACDP lead the George Local Municipality.
• In July, the municipality increased its electricity tariffs.
• The social issues affecting the small town include alcoholism and unemployment.
• For more election stories, visit News24 Politics.

Smoke billows from the backyards of several homes in Ngcakani Road, Thembalethu, as residents resort to wood-fired cooking.

The area is situated in the George Local Municipality, which increased its electricity tariffs for the 2026/27 financial year from 1 July 2026, including an average increase of 7.88% for prepaid and domestic users, structured around energy charges and capacity-based fixed costs, according to a municipal notice.

Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe said the tariff increase was approved following the statutory budget and a public participation process.

But the increase was a harbinger of the plumes of smoke as well as a debt predicament for residents.

SACP leader and former ANC councillor, Langa Langa.

Storm Simpson/News24

Langa Langa, a longstanding community activist, SACP leader and former ANC councillor, said the electricity tariff policy was a debt trap, with some residents signing debt-repayment agreements that perpetuated the cycle of indebtedness.

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He added that the tariffs were but one of myriad signs that the municipality was “run like a business”.

“You can take a tour around Thembalethu, Conville and Parkdene in the early hours of the evening, and you will see smoke coming from behind people’s homes, and you will wonder why, only to discover that people now got to choose between making use of electricity to cook and to only use it to illuminate their houses and to keep their utilities running,” Langa said.

And in my view, it means electricity now is being used to punish people instead of getting people’s lives to progress.

Langa and Mbulelo Magwala, an activist in the more established nearby suburb of New Dawn Park, agreed on several points: inequalities in the George Local Municipality were deep, electricity was expensive, and unemployment was at a high.

Magwala is the People’s Movement for Change’s George mayoral candidate.

Although News24 could not readily find unemployment statistics for the area, a number of youths could be seen roaming the streets.

New Dawn Park

Magwala said alcoholism and a lack of skills development affected New Dawn Park, and that more than 20 000 people were on the waiting list for housing in the area,

News24 could not independently verify that number.

In March, the municipality requested housing beneficiaries to contact its human settlements office to update their details.

While acknowledging that residents also needed more awareness about keeping their communities clean, both Langa and Magwala accused the municipality of tardiness when it came to refuse collection.

Rubbish strewn near the Moeggehuur informal settlement in New Dawn Park.

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People's Movement for Change George mayoral candidate Mbulelo Magwala.

Storm Simpson/News24

Langa, Magwala and Thembalethu resident Anele Mhola said the more affluent areas of George were clean.

While Mhola said life was increasingly difficult for the young and unemployed, the resident noted that there were some positives at the municipality, such as an accessible public transport system.

News24 put it to Mangqwengqwe that Langa and Magwala claimed the tariffs were high and that George was an unequal town.

A view of Thembalethu from New Dawn Park.

Storm Simpson/News24

He responded: “The information provided does not establish that the households concerned are municipal electricity customers, that their reported use of alternative energy sources is attributable to the approved tariff increase, or that they are not already receiving indigent support.”

“The George Municipality remains committed to supporting vulnerable households and has increased free basic electricity for qualifying indigent households from 70 to 80 kWh per month, well above the national minimum allocation.

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“We encourage that the underlying facts be verified before conclusions are drawn regarding the impact of the approved tariffs.”