Residents take to the streets to protest
He stated the department responsible for power was in the area on Monday to assess the power supply system.
Residents of Elandsfontein Rail blocked off Barbara Road from around 05:00 on Monday with burning tyres and rocks.
The protesters told the EMPD they are angry with those from the nearby informal settlement who make illegal electricity connections, causing power outages in the area.
The EMPD, SAPS and local security companies were all on the scene to ensure the protest didn’t turn violent.
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Later, members of the EMPD and of the public started to remove the rocks and tyres for the road to be opened again.
Express approached the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) for comment regarding issues the residents raised.
CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the problem of illegal connection comes from the nearby informal settlement running cables to the existing power grid.
“This causes the system to overload, which leads to the system tripping or breaking down.
“We remove the illegal connections, but a few days later it’s connected again. Over the weekend, the system tripped again.
“The Elandsfontein Rail residents are victims of the people that are connecting to the grid illegally,” said Dlamini.
He stated the department responsible for power was in the area on Monday to assess the power supply system.
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