Mayibuye residents want mayor to address their memorandum, not City Power
Residents want Mayor Dada Morero to respond to their memorandum of demands, and not City Power, after getting a response from the power entity despite taking their memorandum to the mayor’s office.
“As the community of Mayibuye, we find this response disingenuous. The primary purpose of our march was to have engagement with the mayor.”
These were the words of Thapelo Nkoane, of the Mayibuye Youth Activism Movement, and follows the August 25 protest, which saw the disgruntled residents take their memorandum of demands to Mayor Dada Morero’s office.
The memorandum was accepted on behalf of the mayor, and the office was given 14 days to respond, however, Nkoane said it was City Power who responded on September 5.
“We do not want a response from City Power. We have had several failed engagements with them, and the results have always been off the mark. Our memorandum of demands was not directed to City Power, but to the office of the mayor.”
He said their request, as the Mayibuye community, is for Morero to come and engage them, so that he can understand their grievances and concerns.
Nkoane said that if they do not receive a documented response, they will request a date when the mayor will come to Mayibuye to have a discussion with the community.
“We find it unjust and unsympathetic that the mayor shows no interest in engaging with the community while we are in a state of crisis as a consequence of energy poverty.”
Among their demands was the implementation of an indigent policy for all households earning below a threshold income of R9 000, an addressing of the unjust issue of over-billing, and, pursuant to over-billing, a demand that City Power invalidate the R200 surcharge, back payment of R2 400, and fix meter discrepancies.
In the lengthy six-page response to the residents, Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson, said they recognise that electricity billing has been a challenge for many Johannesburg customers.
Mangena said the assumption of the billing function, which came into effect from July 1, is part of a broader City of Johannesburg turnaround strategy, aimed at improving customer experience, enhancing transparency, and creating a more accountable system.
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“In July 2024, City Power implemented a tariff increase, approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa [NERSA].
The increase followed extensive consultations with Johannesburg residents and stakeholders during the integrated development plan process, and other regulated engagement channels, before submission to NERSA.
“It was also during this period that City Power implemented the R200 monthly service and network capacity charge.”
He added that, during the recent normalisation process in Mayibuye, City Power Midrand Service Delivery Centre management also engaged extensively with the community, including sending out a customer alert on July 15 to explain, in detail, the implications of meter bypassing, the R200 monthly service charge, and the network capacity charge.
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