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Soweto residents willing to pay for electricity: Ward councillor

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African National Congress (ANC) councillor for Ward 29 in Soweto, Brenda Dammie, has described as a misconception the narrative that residents of the township do not want to pay for electricity.

Residents of some parts of Soweto including Diepkloof have vowed to intensify their protest action if power is not restored to their areas.

Some residents have embarked on a protest on Monday, blockading major roads including the N1 highway with rocks and burning tyres over electricity issues in the area.

Dammie says none of the residents is asking for free electricity.

“Our people in Soweto are ready to pay and Eskom must come on board and discuss with the people. Nobody says they don’t want to pay, nobody says they want to use electricity without paying. During the time of our former Mayor Geoff Makhubo, may his soul rest in peace, we marched and many questions were asked because Eskom is arrogant,” says Dammie.

Residents in parts of Soweto vow to intensify their protest action over electricity issues:

Meanwhile, Eskom says it has lost approximately R96 million in revenue in the area of Diepkloof, Soweto, alone.

Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi says the Diepkloof Zone 3 residents were disconnected partly as a result of illegal connections.

“Around 700 customers were disconnected and issued with a reconnection fee of R6052.52 for non-payment of electricity. Supply will then be restored once the reconnection fees have been settled.”

“In the past eight months, Eskom has lost revenue of approximately R96 million in the area of Diepkloof alone, where customers’ buying trends are dismally low since their conversion from post-paid to prepaid meters; which were installed to assist them to take better control of their electricity consumption,” explains Qithi.

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