Residents in parts of Soweto have vowed to intensify their protest action if their power is not restored. Some residents have been protesting since Monday morning, blocking major roads with rocks and burning tyres over electricity issues in the area. Earlier, the protesters barricaded the N1.
The freeway has since been reopened but the Soweto Highway next to Diepkloof remains closed. Authorities have dismantled many illegal connections. Traffic was badly affected as protesters placed rocks and burning tyres on the Soweto Highway at the intersection with Immink drive.
Anger and frustration are what some Diepkloof residents expressed as they took to the streets to voice annoyance with power utility Eskom.
“They must come house to house and tell us how much we owe. We threw meat away because it’s been over 2 weeks without electricity. We went to the N1 but we were shot at. Please Ramaphosa come to us,” says a resident.
They were dispersed with rubber bullets as they blocked the N1 freeway close to the Rand Show premises. They chose to continue their demonstration on the Soweto Highway next to Diepkloof.
“We can’t bath, our fridges are off, the meat is off. That is why we are out here. We have been having meetings with our councillor but she is failing us,” says another resident.
Soweto residents call on Eskom to engage with communities over electricity outages:
Community member, Nyaniso Gova, alleges they were disconnected two weeks ago without warning.
“They said each and every house needs to pay R6000 and we said how one even pays the fine on the disconnection card. There’s no account number, just the meter number that doesn’t even belong to the property where they have disconnected. This thing started with the subcontractors who installed the prepaid meters. Their job was not completed because they don’t have the keypads to punch in when you buy electricity,” says Gova.
Gova says they sent a memorandum to the City of Johannesburg and the premier’s office, however, there has been no response.
“This is the only language our government understands because you can send a thousand emails they never respond. So we are saying, let them put the lights on now, it’s a demand. We are not going to leave here till Eskom puts our power back on. Eskom says pay the R6000 and your lights will be back on. We don’t have that kind of money,” says Gova.
Chris Hani Road was also obstructed next to Pimville, as the residents also barricaded the roads preventing motorists from using the road. They used bricks from a small construction company that was being used to pave the walkway.
Tebang Hoshoko, Safety Officer at Axton Matrix, says they are counting the costs.
“This has been the order of the day. Every time this happens, we get affected because they use our own material for this work. I can estimate that it’s R100 000- R250 000 that we have lost. We are suffering. This sets us back. We need to negotiate with the client so we can finish the job,” says Hoshoko.
Soweto residents block off roads in protest over electricity outage lasting 2 weeks :
