Rubble of demolished structures under high voltage power lines and hopeless residents sitting on the foundations of their former homes, this was the sight in Ext 7, along Far East Bank Drive near Laduma Avenue, following a demolition operation led by councillor Tefo Raphadu on Wednesday.

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Raphadu noted that some Ext 7 residents had been without electricity for nearly three months, due to a cable fault beneath informal houses illegally built along Far East Bank Drive. Despite appeals for co-operation and voluntary demolition of structures illegally built over City Power’s underground cables, residents allegedly failed to comply, leading Raphadu to oversee the demolition process.

The utility cited the structures as a barrier to maintaining the power grid

“In areas like Alexandra, faulty cables buried beneath these illegal structures cause prolonged outages. Some residents have gone weeks without electricity because repairs require demolishing homes to access the lines,” the utility’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, explained.

He stressed that these houses violate municipal by-laws and pose severe risks of electrocution, fires, or even death when faults occur in the network. Despite the utility’s concerns, residents expressed frustration over their lack of options.

For some residents, like Aubrey Mabulana, relocation on their own is unthinkable, because it will cost them money they do not have.

“How will a person be able to rent somewhere if they are unable to have even a mere R500 to survive for a month?”

He highlighted the reality of some people in Alexandra, where the growing desperation for houses leads residents to occupy uninhabitable structures illegally built in unsafe places. “The fact that we are here shows that we don’t have the financial means to go and live in better places. These people don’t have jobs.” He said others find it difficult to have enough money to buy essential food staples to sustain them for the month.

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The residents admitted that the risks are undeniable, but maintained that it is the only way to survive. “I wouldn’t be living here if I weren’t struggling. There is no way,” another resident, Mapula Makgothokga, exclaimed, “but we are trying to make a living. We want to, at least, have enough money to send to our children.”
The utility has since urged residents to refrain from occupying or extending their structures into restricted areas.

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