Photo for illustration: Caxton/ Comaro Chronicle
Angry residents from Palm Court in Sunnyside marched with EFF members marched to property services company MidCity, demanding they stop the installation of smart meters in the building.
The tenants picketed on Jorrison Street, saying they were content with the existing arrangements with the City of Tshwane’s.
EFF regional ward chair Majuda Mauwane said the party are marching with the residents to support their demands.
Mauwane claimed the company illegally disconnected tenants’ electricity, which was a basic human right.
“We are here to ensure the community was treated fairly and with dignity. We are concerned about the overcharging of tenants and mismanagement of funds.”
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Mauwane said residents were concerned the properties would be unaffordable with MidCity acting as the middleman.
“We want the meters from Tshwane municipality. They want to change the metering system from Tshwane to a bulk meter so they can have their own meters inside,” he said.
This was not the first march against the metering system and they would return if their demands were not heard, Mauwane said.
“It’s a nightmare for the residents. We have been subjected to this expensive metering system that comes with hidden charges. You can lose more than R500 for each meter,” he claimed.
MidCity chief utilities officer Dirk Groenewald accepted a memorandum of demands from the group.
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He said owners wanted to sell properties with a lack of services, such as power cuts due to nonpayments.
“We act on behalf of trustees and owners and managing agents to run the buildings and hold residents accountable inside the regulations of the city’s bylaws,” Groenewald said.
MidCity CEO Koos Croucamp said the owners of the building appointed his company to run the utilities.
“We are a registered reseller of the city and will sell the electricity to residents with no extra costs – the same approved tariffs by the city,” he said.
“The new meters cannot be bypassed,” Croucamp said.
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