Tembisa residents demand ‘fair load shedding’
'There is no load shedding, this can be described as Phomolong shedding'
ANGRY Tembisa residents took to the dark streets of Phomolong to complain about the constant load shedding they experience.
Ward 12 residents from OR Tambo and Chief Albert Luthuli sections came out in large numbers on the evening of May 7, when Clr Simon Kwili addressed them about load shedding.
Residents claimed unfair treatment and said they seemed to be the only residents always left in the dark.
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They said they had to endure long and indefinite electricity cuts, while other communities like Birch Acres got to be without electricity for one and a half hours only.
Kwili, who met with OR Tambo Section residents first, said Phomolong power problems were made worse after a substation in Allandale was blown up.
“There is no load shedding, this can be described as Phomolong shedding,” interjected some of the community members.
Kwili reminded residents that all communities were affected by load shedding, not only Phomolong.
He told the community that since the inception of the township, electricity was connected to the nearby Extension Five township, which was directly supplied by City Power in Johannesburg.
“Phomolong’s electricity is not supplied by Ekurhuleni. This makes cut-offs worse as a result of the damaged substation, which falls under City Power.”
During Kwili’s address to OR Tambo residents, community members from the Chief Albert Luthuli community waited impatiently across the street at the nearby Phomolong Sports Grounds, to meet with him.
He did not address this group, which angered the residents and led to a protest and march to the Phomolong Services Pay Point.
The EMPD and police responded immediately to reports of the gathering to ensure control of the situation.
Chief Albert Luthuli residents demanded to see Kwili, following his address to OR Tambo residents.
“The reason we are here is that we feel undermined by the ward councillor. We’ve been calling him to come to Chief Albert Luthuli Section, where I am the secretary of this particular community,” said Bongumusa Mahlalela.
“The main problem here is electricity. We are neighbouring wards with ward 13 in Birchleigh and Birch Acres, where electricity outages are only for one and a half hours. Here it is the whole day. We are here to get the facts from him,” said Mahlalela.
Kwili promised to return to address the residents at a later date.
