Pretoria – Residents in some parts of Tembisa are currently without electricity due to violent service delivery protests which started on Monday.
Power was affected after protesters set alight a sub-station when residents took to the streets demanding Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell address their grievances in person.
Meanwhile, Eskom has indicated that it will be withdrawing its services in the township amid the violence.
The power utility said services will only resume when it was safe for its staff to work in the area.
Eskom spokesperson in Gauteng, Amanda Qithi, said: “There are currently protests that are taking place and there are roads that have been closed, we will then not be able to access some of the areas.”
She added that employees and technicians will not be sent to the area, “just purely for their protection.”
#EskomGauteng #Tembisa #ServicesWithdrawn
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) August 2, 2022
We have withdrawn services in Tembisa due to the ongoing protests. Services will only resume when it is safe for our employees to work in the area.
Resident have also burned the Rabasotho community centre and will now be forced to go to Kempton Park to get assistance.
At least four people were killed after residents took to the streets to protest over service delivery. Several businesses were also looted and at least 31 municipal vehicles torched.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Safety, Letlhogonolo Moseki, said they were expecting arrests by the end of the day.
Speaking to eNCA, he said extra police had been deployed to the area to monitor the situation. Moseki said the executive mayor was meeting with officials to find a solution.
According to Campbell, a meeting was held last week to address the residents’ demands, however the meeting collapsed.
Moseki believes that a “third force” was behind the violent protests. He said they were on a fact-finding mission to ensure that those responsible for the protests and damage were brought to book. Moseki estimated that the cost of damage to infrastructure runs into the millions.
IOL