City Power ‘cautiously’ resumes operations following violent protests

City Power said on Tuesday it would “cautiously” resume its operations in Johannesburg following a spate of violent protests and looting last week.

“City Power will continue to monitor violence flashpoints across the City of Johannesburg to determine whether it’s safe to operate or not.

“We were forced to withdraw response teams from areas plagued by violence and looting on Sunday and Monday for safety reasons,” said City spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

Skeletal service resumed on Monday at 12pm after the situation improved in areas like Malvern, Jeppestown, Rossettenvile, Hillbrow, and the Joburg CBD, and after police assurance and an engagement with City of Joburg ward councillors who indicated that it was fairly safe to go into those areas.

“However, we won’t be dispatching at night in those areas until we are sure of the safety of our contractors and employees,” Mangena said.

“With Tuesday fairly quiet, we have decided to continue with the services as per normal while we continue to monitor the situation. We have urged our employees and contractors to exercise caution and take measures necessary to ensure their safety and that of the vehicles, equipment and infrastructure they work on.”

Mangena said the violence did not only threaten the lives of the City’s employees and contractors, but resulted in some of its operations being disrupted and response times affected, thus inconveniencing customers.

“The safety of our employees is of paramount importance and we will continue monitoring the situation daily and will make necessary calls when needed,” said Mangena.

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