Kanana residents, in Rabie Ridge, have accused Ward 80 councillor Melody Hlatshwayo of failing to deliver services to the community because she is in the latter months of her term. This comes after the disgruntled residents staged a protest on July 29 over delayed electricity and transformer issues, as well as other service delivery issues.

Ngwako Raphokaona, ward committee member for infrastructure, claimed that since January this year, residents have not had transformers, leading to no electricity in the township for over six months.

Read more: City Power works around the clock to audit Mayibuye residents meters

He said about 11 transformers have been damaged in Ward 80, resulting in about half of the Kanana community having no electricity. Some continue to explode, with no intervention from Hlatshwayo to fix them.

“Our councillor is failing us when it comes to service delivery, and there is no communication from her as to what the delay is,” said Raphokoana. “During public meetings, our so-called councillor lies to the community members, and always makes empty promises. Whenever we try to get hold of her, we can’t, as she ignores our calls and WhatsApp texts. She has failed us. I think she is punishing the community intentionally, because her term is coming to an end. We are tired of her lies,”

This is not the first time residents downed tools in Kanana. Another strike took place on May 12 against the lack of service delivery, in which police had to intervene, whisking Hlatshwayo away from the packed Kanana Sports Grounds.

In two articles, Kanana residents demand that the councillor step down, and Hlatshwayo is going nowhere, [Week ending May 23], Hlatshwayo blamed various city departments for letting her down. She also indicated that she will stand for the upcoming 2026 local government elections, despite the dark cloud hanging over her head.

Raphokaona said the councillor told residents to go to City Power on their own, saying she was: ‘Too busy to accompany us to their offices and lodge our complaints’. “We are tired of her empty promises. As the community, we are extremely tired of Hlatshwayo’s lies and empty promises.”

Midrand Reporter contacted Hlatshwayo for comment regarding these allegations, however, she was in a meeting and requested to be called after an hour. When the paper called back, Hlatshyo dropped our call and did not respond to our WhatsApp messages.

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