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Alexandra residents burn tires and block roads to prevent City Power officials from disconnecting illegal electrical connections in Johannesburg.
- City Power vehicles were damaged during an illegal connection operation in River Park, Alexandra.
- City Power and its contractors disconnected and removed the illegal connections.
- Residents then expressed their anger, burning tires and preventing cars from circulating on London Road.
Several cars belonging to City Power contractors were damaged during an illegal connection operation in River Park, Alexandra in Johannesburg, in which illegal connections were disconnected.
The officials embarked on the operation in the area, however, upon arrival they were received by neighbors who vented their anger at them and stoned their vehicles.
Protesters burned tires and prevented vehicles from entering the area.
Resident Lumka Nongqotho confirmed to News24 that she was among the people who have illegally turned on the power at her home.
“We know that we have illegally connected power to our homes after we occupied our properties three years ago. When we arrived here in 2017, there was no electricity and we decided to connect it to our homes.
“We want to pay for the electricity and we have asked our municipality to install adequate electricity in our house,” Nongqotho said.
Alexandra residents burn tires to prevent City Power officials from disconnecting illegal electrical connections in Johannesburg.
News24 Ntwaagae Seleka
Alexandra residents burn tires and block roads to prevent City Power officials from disconnecting illegal electrical connections in Johannesburg.
News24 Ntwaagae Seleka
Another resident, Mike Mlambo, said they were angered when they saw City Power officials disconnect and cut power without notification.
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“They never informed us they were coming today. They didn’t show us any respect. They just went for our cables and took them away.
“We want electricity in our area. We are angry that City Power did not respect us,” Mlambo said.
City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena said the power company was losing around R2 billion annually in revenue due to illegal connections.
Speaking to reporters on the ground, Mangena said his operations were targeting hotspots where there was an overload of electricity use, resulting in damage, such as explosions to his infrastructure.
READ HERE | City Power removes more than 50 tons of illegally connected cables
“We were met with anger from the community that began to stone cars. At least two of our contractors’ cars were damaged. We were able to continue our operation in other parts of Alexandra and decided to suspend it,” Mangena said.
Mangena added that the violence erupted after some of the illegal connections were disconnected.
“We are trying to save revenue here, not to punish people. We are losing around R2 billion in non-technical losses, mainly on illegal connections.
“We are, by law, required to deal with illegal connections, not just in Alexandra, but throughout the city of Johannesburg,” Mangena said.
Mangena said the power company will continue to carry out similar operations in Alexandra and other parts of the city.
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