Electricity Disconnection Angers Soweto Residents, Protests Block the Highway

• Soweto residents held a protest earlier today against Eskom disconnecting their power supply due to non-payment
• The Johannesburg Metro Police Department has encouraged motorists to use alternative routes to avoid the scene of the protest
• The residents said that they will continue to protest until Eskom reinstates their electricity without them having to pay a fee

SOWETO - A group of Soweto residents held a protest against Eskom disconnecting their electricity supply. During the protest, the residents blocked off part of the Soweto highway and threw bricks.

The cause of the protest is Eskom shutting off the electricity supply to 700 homes in Soweto and charging residents an R6000 reconnection fee. Eskom says this their decision is based on many residents in the area not paying for electricity.

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Wayne Minnaar, a spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, said that motorists should find alternative routes to avoid the part of the highway that was affected by the protest, SABC News reports.

Residents respond to Eskom cutting off their power supply

The protesting residents expressed that they feel Eskom is blaming them for its own failings, EWN writes. They committed to continuing their protest until Eskom restores their electricity.

Eskom maintains that the residents' lack of payment, use of illegal connections, supporting ghost vendors, and vandalising substations are why their electricity supply was shut off.

One Soweto resident, Alda Mosima, said that Eskom is aware that the residents cannot afford the reconnection fee, but they refuse to lower the amount.

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Reactions to latest Soweto electricity protest

@Noob48397922 believes:

"So now they don't have electricity or roads, may as well switch off the water as well."

@RicoSmi82794035 asked:

"Can someone try to explain the implications on job availability and economic recovery to the protesters?'

@nditshedzeni_53 said:

"Basically they don't want to pay for electricity."

@czn07 shared:

"This should serve as an indictment to leaders in our country. Our society has models who have demonstrated their insufficiency and this displays it. These are not rioters, they are the people who vote for political leaders."

@theratreturns said:

"Hey. Lets not do anything. Why not get the useless army in there, and force them to clean up. Time they realize nothing is for mahla. They steal electricity from people that actually pay for it and the JMPD takes photos. How far South African police have fallen."

Possibility of Stage 8 loadshedding during festive season annoys locals

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Earlier Briefly News reported that embattled power utility Eskom is frustrating the nation once more. Eskom has warned the public that Mzansi could possibly face Stage 8 loadshedding during the festive season.

Peeps are not at all impressed by this shocking announcement. "Stage 8" is trending on Twitter as South Africans from all over Mzansi are sharing their thoughts on the harrowing news.

The thought of being without electricity in the terrible heat taking over the country paired with it being the festive season.

Source: Briefly News