Protest shuts down Mamelodi
Residents angry at power cuts barricade suburb
Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, came to a complete standstill yesterday with several main roads barricaded due to protests over power cuts.
Several parts of Mamelodi have not had electricity, some as long as two weeks.
When Sowetan visited the area, angry protesters were seen barricading the busy road with rocks and objects while police monitored the situation. Some protesters were seen cooking rotten food on the street in a pot.
“I have thrown away all my food from the fridge because it is rotten and now I’m spending money every day on takeaways... because there is no electricity for almost three weeks now,” said angry protester Sarah Mangena, 55.
Mangena said they lodged a complaint with the City of Tshwane electricity department but no-one came to fix the problem.
“I hear that this is sabotage from the striking Tshwane workers and they switched off the lights on purpose and they are using community to fight their own battles and this is wrong,” said Mangena.
Clement Sebosha, 45, said he wished the City of Tshwane could resolve the issues with striking workers because they were the ones suffering.
“It saddened me that I don’t have electricity despite the fact that I pay the municipal bills every month but the people who don’t pay municipal bills have electricity,” he said.
The residents vowed to protest until electricity is restored in their areas.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said after a court interdict was obtained against the labour unions and disruption of municipal services, the city was making an effort to restore power.
“Our artisans that are reporting for duty have to contend with threats and intimidation from other strikers,” said Mashigo.