City Power to meet with Kliptown Square leaders after calling off disconnection op due to violence
Residents confronted police head-on, preventing them for entering the complex. This resulted in City Power staff backing down and calling off the operation for Wednesday.
Kliptown Square blocked the entrance to the complex, preventing police and City Power officials from disconnecting illegal electricity connections in the complex on 29 January 2025. Picture: Sphamandla Dlamini/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - City Power said it would be meeting with the community leaders of Kliptown Square after its operation to disconnect illegal electricity connections were halted due to violent protests.
The power utility’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said that they would give residents the opportunity to voice their grievances on Thursday before they continued with the cut off operation.
Kliptown Square is a Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) project with City Power prepaid electricity meters.
Residents confronted police head-on, preventing them from entering the complex.
The City of Johannesburg is on an operation to disconnect illegally connected water and electricity at a Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSCHO) property in Kliptown Soweto.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 29, 2025
JOSHCO is accompanied by Joburg Water and City Power officials. @Jay_Mbatha pic.twitter.com/uZg6v8JWUf
Residents are burning tyres at the Kliptown Square. A Johannesburg Social Housing Company property.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 29, 2025
They are resisting an operation by City Power to disconnect their illegally connected electricity. @Jay_Mbatha pic.twitter.com/itMMLAp8Up
Kliptown Square residents have blocked the entrance of the complex preventing the City Power officials from leaving.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 29, 2025
This comes as the City Power officials came to disconnect illegal power connections. @Jay_Mbatha pic.twitter.com/23ihjl0CUW
This resulted in City Power staff backing down and calling off the operation for Wednesday.
The power utility said that 120 residents were found to have bypassed meters in December.
On Wednesday, an additional three units were found to be illegally connected.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena: "Following the violence that started to brew around here, we decided as a department and JOSHCO that we are going to abandon the operation. We met with the leadership on site and agreed that we should meet."
Mangena said that having the meeting did not mean the disconnection operations would stop.