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Parts of Alexandra in northern Johannesburg were declared no-go zones by irate residents Wednesday when they reacted angrily to a morning operation by City Power officials to cut back on illegal electricity connections.
The River Park section was cut off when mobs burned tires and blocked roads before a tense standoff with riot police. Previously, the police had used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Relative calm was restored by noon.
Those behind the civil unrest were vehement that the area would remain isolated until illegal connections were reestablished.
“We tell them ‘don’t even try to come here.’ The road is closed and it will stay that way, ”a man told SowetanLIVE’s sister publication TimesLIVE.
He said the community had been taken for granted, and that services were only provided around election time to get votes.
“These [City Power] the officials are going to come back and charge us to give them back the electricity, but then they come and cut us off, ”said the angry man.
The city of Johannesburg has been hard-pressed to curb rampant electricity theft in the suburbs.
TimesLIVE
