Simon Lenkoe hopes that residents from Kya Sand Informal Settlement will refrain from illegally connecting electricity.
For the past two months, power outages in Lenkoe’s street have been ongoing leaving him and his neighbours in the dark.
These power outages were caused by residents from the informal settlements who illegally connected their wires on the City Power’s grid on Agnes Avenue.
“It’s been more than a month struggling to have electricity for a full day. During the weekend we did not have electricity at all again,” he said.
City Power has since replaced the electricity box on the road and disconnected all the illegal wires.
Ward 96 Councillor Matome Mafokwane said this plight was initially reported to City Power at the beginning of April. “Eventually, the urban management and City Power disconnected all the illegal wires,” he said.
He further explained that residents from the informal settlement wanted to attack a resident who reported this problem.
“They allegedly went to his gate and threatened him until Douglasdale police were called after which they dispersed,” he continued.
Mafokwane said he proposed a public meeting with community leaders and the City of Joburg to seek the solution to the problem. “Residents from the informal settlement told us that they have a problem with crime in their area hence they have connected electricity illegally,” he explained.
Mafokwane concluded that they wrote a letter to the office of the speaker and about the street lights in the informal settlement. “We have asked them to formalise the settlement and install electricity where residents will be obliged to pay for that electricity,” he concluded.
One of the settlement’s community leaders, George Maluleke, said if authorities do not communicate with them and address their problems they will reconnect illegally again.
He explained that residents started illegal connections when the incidents of crime such as murders, housebreaking and robberies escalated in the area.
“Criminals were robbing us as it is very dark in the settlement at night. It has been said that the fire that ravaged our shacks in 2014 was caused by illegal connections and that is not true,” he explained.
Maluleke concluded that residents wanted electricity and if government officials continued to neglect them, they would persist in illegally connections.
Details: Ward 96 Councillor Matome Mafokwane, 084 854 4950.
Related articles:
Illegal connections and cable theft cost City Power over R1 billion
