"Not the Change We Ordered": SA Not Impressed with Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse's Stance on Non Paying Residents
- The City of Johannesburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse says the residents not paying for their electricity will not be an option anymore
- Phalatse says if residents cannot afford to pay for electricity they can apply for the Extended Social Package programme
- South Africans are not happy with Phalatse's remarks and say she is not the kind of change they wanted
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!
JOHANNESBURG - Newly-elected mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse of the City of Johannesburg will not stand for residents who refuse to pay for their electricity usage.
In recent weeks, the residents of Diepkloof in Soweto have been protesting after Eskom shut off power from over 700 homes. Eskom argued that the decision was taken because residents had not been paying their electricity bills or purchased electricity from ghost vendors.
Source: Twitter
Phalatse stated that no one has an excuse not to pay for their electricity and if they really cannot afford their electricity bills, they can apply for exemptions through the city’s Extended Social Package (ESP), according to TimesLIVE.
The mayor says it is the responsibility of residents to make sure that they register for the ESP programme because a culture of not paying for electricity will not be accepted by the municipality.
PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!
Joburg mayor says she is mediating between Eskom and Soweto residents
Phalatse says she is aware of the standoff between and Eskom and Soweto residents because of electricity issues. She states that she has been liaising with both residents and Eskom to find a common ground, reports The South African.
Phalatse, however, says she has learnt that residents have engaged in illegal activity by stealing electricity from Eskom's grid.
The new mayor says she is a bit optimistic that more residents will start paying for electricity because the number of non-paying residents has decreased over the years.
Take a look at what South Africans have to say about the Joburg mayor's warning to residents:
@SUL_humanist said:
"So she starts her job with threats? I see... she will be out soon enough as this is not how you engage this electricity issue where the fault is overwhelmingly on the City's side. She also clearly subscribes to the moronic idea of blaming citizens for administrative failures."
@Jforealnow said:
"This is not the change we ordered. "
@JonAbbo74546487 said:
"A very impressive lady on the face of it. Now we'll just have to see what she'll be like in action."
@SuperiorZulu said:
"The EFF voted for DA's Mpho Phalatse to be Mayor of Johannesburg. That alone was already a superior logic gone wrong, Phalatse may be Black but she's a DA member and DA members are anti-poor and anti-black. Now she unleashes her agenda on poor blacks of Soweto and EFF is shocked"
Mayor Mpho Phalatse finally announces City of Joburg mayoral committee
Briefly News previously reported that the newly-elected mayor of the Democratic Alliance Dr Mpho Phalatse finally announced the much-anticipated mayoral committee for the City of Johannesburg.
The metropolitan municipality was in limbo after ActionSA and the Economic Freedom Fighter's controversially voted for the DA without a coalition agreement.
In a statement sent to Briefly News, Phalatse says the formation of a multi-party government comes after weeks of negotiations to bring a stable government to Johannesburg.
Source: Briefly News
