Residents of Bambayi informal settlement at Doornkop extension 4 in Soweto were up in arms on Wednesday to try and prevent Eskom from removing illegal electrical connections.
The cables were visibly lying on the street and connected from shack to shack. Angry residents blocked the roads with rocks pelted vehicles with stones. Police officers fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
"There was an agreement that Eskom would provide us with temporary electricity on Friday last week.
That never happened; instead they sent people to come and disconnect our electricity. We understand the dangers of illegal electricity but we can't afford to buy paraffin on a daily basis‚" said a 24-year-old woman who only introduced herself as Zoleka.
Another resident said they had blocked the streets to attract attention so that they could be heard.
"We have been staying in this area for more than 20 years but we still lack service delivery. South Africa is celebrating 23 years of democracy but we are still in the dark. What are we voting for if they can't provide us with electricity. They want to force us to use candles that are killing our people‚" said a 27-year-old man.
Just after 2pm a group of residents started collecting tyres‚ even though there was heavy police presence in the area. - SowetanLIVE
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