The DA blamed the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) for allowing illegal connections to skyrocket to such an extent that residents of Elandsfontein, Germiston, faced riots in their backyards.
“Residents were subjected to violent riots in June when CoE embarked on an operation to remove illegal connections in the Mabondeni informal settlement in Elandsfontein,” said Michele Clarke, DA Germiston Constituency head.
“While the riots were taking place, CoE was unable to restore electricity to law-abiding residents who had been without power for between one and 18 days.
“The riots came hours after the opposition party launched its Take Back Your Power campaign.
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“The campaign aims to pressurise CoE to deliver an acceptable electricity service and to deal with illegal connections,” said Clarke.
Recommendations made as part of the campaign include:
- Convening a special task team inclusive of national government departments to investigate properties that are overloading the network because of overcrowding and illegal connections.
- Establishing a specialised unit to assist with the removal of illegal connections.
- Establishing an inter-governmental task team to protect city officials and property when illegal connections are removed.
The GCN previously reported that the DA called on residents to support its campaign by signing a petition for CoE to improve electricity service.
“The Committee of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in parliament requested the mayor and his team to account for the power outages,” said Clarke.
“We had an opportunity to make two declarations in parliament around this crisis and I submitted the petition around the crisis in Germiston.
“We also submitted a motion to council on this matter.
“Ekurhuleni has been told by Parliament to put a plan together as to how they will address the crisis, and we will keep them accountable,” said Clarke.
GCN sent a request for comment to CoE on July 9, July 13 and again on July 20 requesting comment on electricity outages and illegal connections.
At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.
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