RESIDENTS OF KWA-THEMA URGED TO PROTEST WITHOUT DESTROYING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE

I would like to assure residents of Kwa-Thema that the City of Ekurhuleni is doing its utmost to restore power in the area.

Load-shedding is causing damage to municipal electricity infrastructure which has resulted in extensive damage to one of the two transformers that service the area. This, coupled with illegal connections has been the root cause of the outage.

Poor weather conditions have delayed the energy department from testing the 25MVA transformer to ensure that it is in full working order before switching the live feedback on.

While we are cognisant of the rights of residents to protest, we can never condone the vandalism and destruction of municipal infrastructure.

Communities need to take ownership of these assets and safeguard them as they are crucial to service delivery.

I have deployed two MMCs to the area to relay the message that was given to ward councillors ahead of the outrage in the area on behalf of the Executive.

I urge all residents of Kwa-Thema to exercise their rights in a non-violent manner and within the ambit of the law.

Issued by the Office of the Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni