Some Soweto residents feel that Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse did not give them the answers they were looking for in addressing their electricity struggles. Joined by members of the Mayoral Committee and Eskom representatives, Phalatse addressed residents at Soweto Theatre.
Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse has begun with her response to the residents of Soweto. #CoJInSoweto #JoburgServices@CityofJoburgZA @CoJPublicSafety @mphophalatse1 @MmcPublicSafety @David_S_Tembe pic.twitter.com/8kv2e5giIQ
— Jo’burg Metro Police Department – JMPD (@JoburgMPD) September 10, 2022
There’s been long-standing pressure on the City of Johannesburg to take over the electricity supply in Soweto, as residents currently get their power directly from Eskom.
Soweto owes Eskom billions in unpaid bills.
Residents sang struggle songs as they eagerly awaited the Johannesburg Mayor’s address. This comes after a memorandum of concerns was delivered to the mayor’s office in June.
The Joburg Mayor says she has tried to engage Eskom on several occasions but has not yet received any tangible solutions for Soweto.
Soweto residents say they are left even more frustrated after the service delivery address by Phalatse and Eskom on the ongoing electrifying woes in the area.
Lack of tangible solution
They say the Mayor and Eskom failed to come up with tangible solutions to the power challenges the people of Soweto are struggling with.
They say Saturday’s address was a waste of time. The message did not sit well with the residents who had attended the meeting.
@nhlanhla_lux_ now takes to the podium to give his response on behalf of the Soweto residents #CoJInSoweto #JoburgServices ^NJ pic.twitter.com/pyru8NMjSi
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) September 10, 2022
Thabang Moloi of the Soweto Parliament says, “The mayor has said nothing, she did not address our memorandum. We did not say we don’t want to pay. We want to pay a flat rate. Let us collect R 200 from everyone and we will be able to pay Eskom.”
Residents say Mayor & Eskom failed to bring solutions to their power woes
Hefty R 5 billion electricity bill
The unpaid Soweto bill now sits at about R 5 billion.
Eskom’s Daphne Mokwena has refuted the mayor’s claims that they are not coming to the party.
“The amount is about R5 billion that is owed to Eskom. Once we have installed the prepaid meter, we will monitor your purchases for 36 months and park your debt. We are engaging with the City, about a month ago, we had another engagement with the City.” Mokwena explains
Mokwena has pleaded with residents to allow technicians to install prepaid meters in the meantime.
