Protests have stopped but grievances still unresolved
Khanyisile Nojiyeza, 33, is nursing a wound after she was hit by a rubber bullet during a service delivery protest in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.
Residents took to the streets on Monday to protest against lack of electricity.
Nojiyeza, a disabled mother of two, was cleaning inside her shack when a bullet went through an open door and hit her on the right thigh. “I didn’t sleep last night, it was so painful, I share the protestors’ sentiments although I couldn’t participate because I fear to get injured there when people start running,” she said.
Nojiyeza and her husband Lucky Mnchunu live with their children aged 14 and 8 in a two-roomed shack.
Mnchunu said they survive on social grants and begging on the street for money.
“The disability grants we receive is not enough to sustain us. My wife is unable to do laundry so we had to buy a washing machine that uses a generator. The machine uses 15 litres of petrol over two days that we buy for R195. We also use one litre of paraffin a day to cook and warm water every morning,” he said.
“We could be saving a lot of money if we had electricity. One of my children has sinus problems and it is made worse by the paraffin that we use in the house. We have to buy most of our food daily because without a fridge it gets spoilt easily. Being disabled and having children is not easy .”
A community leader who did not want to be named, said the electricity issue was a long-standing one in parts of Diepsloot.
“We delivered a petition to the City of Joburg last year but we got no response. People are frustrated. There will be a meeting with city officials on Tuesday,” he said.
City of Joburg City Power spokesman Virgil James referred us to Eskom. Eskom spokesman Nkosana Sibuyi said the area where residents complained was “not proclaimed by the municipality”.
“We do not just go and electrify. We work very closely with the municipality.”