By: ANG Reporter
The Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee has accused Eskom of targeting the poor by threatening to switch the lights off for communities who reject pre-paid meters.
This comes after Eskom issued a stern warning that Soweto residents who refused pre-paid meters would be disconnected from the power supply. Last week residents of Moletsane in Soweto took to the streets protesting against the installation of pre-paid meters.
Angry community members chased away Eskom technicians who had come to install the pre-paid meters. A leader for the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, Trevor Ngwane said Soweto and other townships were populated by poor people. He said in some of these communities Eskom was not even servicing the infrastructure.
“I had thought that Eskom had given up on this but they are dead intent on squeezing blood from a stone. People are unemployed and they don’t have enough money to pay for the expensive electricity,” Ngwane said.
Ngwane said forcing the residents to take pre-paid meters was a bullying tacting which could result in a revolt by residents. “I condemn this and I think that it could cause more suffering and unnecessary tension, Even some violence in the township,” Ngwane said.
Ngwane said Eskom should not be run like an ordinary business. He said while it may be an SOE, the power utility still had a social mandate.
“Eskom for many years was not paying taxes to the government and for many years it was not allowed to declare a profit,” Ngwane said.
Meanwhile, Eskom spokesperson Amanda Qithi said Soweto owed the parastatal at least R4 billion. She said Eskom had to recoup this money to fund its operations. “So we are in constant engagement with our customers and people need to realize that Eskom is a business and has operating costs and we have staff that we have to pay,” Qithi said.
