Peace and power has been restored in Alexandra following the power outage protest that occurred early on Monday.
Officers from the Johannesburg metro police continued to be present in the area after residents of Mamabolo informal settlement blocked roads with debris and burning tires.
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They demanded the immediate restoration of electricity in the area.
Residents claimed that they were provided with more than 10 reference numbers after contacting City Power, who repeatedly directed them to Eskom.
However, even after eight days, they still lacked electricity, and no one had offered them any explanation for the power outage.
Oscar Mnisi, the community leader, stated that they had been without power since Sunday, July 9th, which was a day before the region experienced some of the lowest temperatures this winter.
“Last week, it snowed, and tomorrow our children are supposed to go to school. How will we be able to iron their clothes for them?”
Isaac Mangena from City Power clarified the confusion regarding who should have responded to address the outage, whether Eskom or City Power.
“Marlboro is primarily supplied by Eskom, but in the Mamabolo informal settlement and Vezinyawo village, there is a local mini sub-station managed by City Power, which has been non-operational for the past seven days.”
He mentioned that the area was afflicted by illegal electricity connections.
However, resident Nicholas Sadike denied this claim about Mamabolo.
“We have the right to demand proper service delivery from the government. Our electricity is legal. There are no illegal connections. When there’s a problem, they must come and fix it.”
Mangena added, “Furthermore, the ring unit in the mini sub-station, which belongs to Eskom, is also inactive.”
Residents also expressed their disappointment with the absence of their local ward 109 councillor, Lori Cynthia Coogan. They stated that she instructed them to send emails before she would escalate the matter.
Coogan dismissed these allegations, asserting that she had been making efforts since last week to take immediate action and prevent the protest. She claimed to have been communicating with certain community members as well.
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She stated that they were prepared to write to Eskom, requesting a direct line of communication. The frustration that led to the protest stemmed from poor communication from the responsible departments.
Electricity was finally restored by Monday afternoon.
