A general view of residential flats. The Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre says more than 70 residents at a FAWU-owned hostel in Gugulethu have been without electricity since April.
More than 70 residents living in a Food and Allied Workers' Union (FAWU)-owned hostel in Gugulethu have been without electricity for nearly three months after the City of Cape Town disconnected the supply over unpaid municipal debt, according to the Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) Law Centre.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the law centre said the electricity supply to the hostel was disconnected on April 15 after the City cut power due to outstanding electricity arrears allegedly owed by FAWU.
According to NU, the affected residents are descendants of workers formerly employed by SA Milling and Blue Ribbon who were accommodated in the hostel during the 1980s. The property was later donated to FAWU in the early 2000s for the benefit of the workers and their descendants.
NU said there are no prepaid electricity meters at the hostel, leaving residents dependent on FAWU to pay the municipal electricity account.
