Residents of the Floyd Shivambu Informal residents in Rabie Ridge near Midrand, who have connected electricity illegally have lambasted City Power for cutting off their electricity, especially in the middle of school exams.
City Power accompanied by the JMPD yesterday disconnected non-paying residents who are said to owe more than R4 million through illegal connections. It was a day of sorrow for the residents who hurled insults at the technicians who were removing 14 000 kg tons of electricity cables.
Furious resident Dikgeto Diteo said their children will be severely prejudiced due to the disconnections. “You [City Power] should have waited until Grade 12 learners finished writing their exams. We are not crying for your electricity, we just want our children to move forward, (because) us as their parents have failed.
“We are concerned that our children use cell phone torches to study whenever there are power cuts here,” she said and complained that the government cares only about them when it is time to vote. “They will be telling us to vote very soon, why should we vote, vote for this nonsense?”
Another resident Nqwako Morena described the cuts as unfair. “We just want to live like other people but because we don’t have money we connect illegally but what can we do? Where will we get the right electricity,” Morena asked. City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said they were aware of technicians who go back and sell the same cables to reconnect electricity illegally to residents.
“There are those people within City Power who, after we have done these connections, come back and reconnect the same customers. We are working with the law enforcement agencies. At City Power we don’t arrest people but we rely on them to identify the culprits,” Mangena said.
He said there were undercover police who were also looking for leads on who are the people within City Power re-connecting the houses illegally. Mangena said businesses, government buildings, mines and factors including households owe the entity a staggering R400 million.
“Local businesses in Rabie Ridge and neighbouring areas owe us R90 million, and domestic and government combined owe us R250 million. Large power users owe R67 million. In total, we are owed more than R408 million,” Mangena said.
On Wednesday the utility will move to Lenasia in the south of Johannesburg to continue with the operation to disconnect those who are stealing electricity.
