Hundreds of angry Soweto residents took to the streets of the sprawling township in a peaceful march on Tuesday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government addresses power cuts and other problems affecting the community.
During the march the Sowetans, joined by other nearby townships’ residents, threatened to shut down Gauteng Province’s head office ahead of the State of the Province Address by provincial premier David Makhura.
Among their grievances, the protestors said they were fed up with the current regular power cuts that go on for days at a time.
State-owned utility Eskom has been turning off power to thousands of residents in Soweto who are said to owe the utility millions of dollars in unpaid bills.
According to the power supplier, clients from the country’s various municipalities owe it some US$2 billion in unsettled bills and it has vowed to be more aggressive in collecting debt from the defaulting municipalities.
The protests have come a day before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is expected to deliver his budget speech in the National Assembly in Cape Town on Wednesday.
NM/jn/APA