EKURHULENI – Residents of Thokoza took to the streets on Monday night July 14 after several consecutive power outages, following a period of discontent over electricity since the beginning of June.

The lack of power has caused havoc for small local businesses, as it creates opportunities for criminals to rob and attack the Somali store owners.

People closed several streets, such as Tshabalala, Khumalo, Buthelezi, Monyane, Dube, Mazibuko and Sabi streets, not allowing any vehicle to pass.

“Residents are angry because electricity goes off around 5:45 almost every day in the areas of Thokoza, and sometimes in the entire Thokoza. People are not sure whether these power outages are load-shedding or not. They have nothing against me, because they know it’s not my fault,” said ANC Ward 54 Cllr Nozipho Mabuza.

“The people who attacked Somali store owners were not part of the strike. Those were just people who took advantage of the situation and robbed small businesses in the area.”

It is alleged that the municipality wanted to install new meters that people do not want as they would not be able to pay cheaply for all the electricity they use. Cllr Nozipho Mabuza said: “People have nothing against the new meters, their strike was solely caused by the frequent power outages.”

Cllr Mabuza have called a meeting with the people of Thokoza for Sunday July 20 at 08:00 to discuss this issue further.