Soweto residents call on Joburg Mayor to facilitate meeting between Eskom, community leaders

Residents of Soweto are calling on Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse to facilitate a meeting between Eskom and community leaders to find a solution to end the constant power cuts in the township.

Hundreds of residents Tuesday morning embark on a protest at the Mayor’s office in Johannesburg to voice their grievances.

Community leader and president of Soweto Parliament, Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini says, “The main problem is service delivery. At the top of the list of service delivery is electricity. So we are saying that we need Eskom to be sitting in a meeting with us so we can bring about a solution to this electricity problem. Because of the way things are, we got communities in Soweto that are without electricity and we can’t live like this. So we need better service delivery all round in Soweto. That’s why we’re all going to the Mayor’s office to say that let’s have a new way of doing things moving forward.”

“How do you expect people who survive on R350 to pay R6000 reconnection fee?”

Roads in Soweto reopened

All the roads in Soweto which were blocked off to traffic in the early hours of Tuesday have been reopened to traffic.

Scores of disgruntled residents gathered at Maponya Mall ahead of their march to the offices of Johannesburg Mayor to voice their grievances over constant power outages and other service delivery issues in the area.

Scores of residents took to the streets to protest, blockading several main roads in the township with burning tyres and rocks on Monday.

“The roads have now been reopened for traffic to flow and we now see that participants of the march have gathered at Maponya mall where they will depart using busses to Metro centre in Braamfontein where they will conduct their march. There is a heavy police presence in Soweto and Braamfontein where the march will be conducted and officers will monitor the march for any disruptions and disturbances,” says Xolani Fihla, Johannesburg Metro police spokesperson.

VIDEO: Mass protest expected in Soweto over lack of electricity

Dlamini says that they’re taking their grievances to the necessary authorities.

“Whenever we have a problem, we need to start a new culture of dealing with the problem, more than just breaking things and taking to the streets, and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s simple, we want better service delivery. At the top of the service delivery list is the Eskom issue, because we’ve got communities in Soweto, two years without electricity, some a year without electricity, and it’s just not acceptable, we just can’t live like this. We want a sustainable solution that comes from both the community and the city, and Eskom.”