The Diepkloof protest may have been diverted from the N1 highway but, it continues to disrupt traffic in the Soweto region, on Monday.
Diepkloof protest: Roads to avoid on Monday 6 December 2021
Law enforcement officials, including the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, were deployed to a section of the N1 highway, in the wee hours of Monday, where portions of the road were laced with obstructive objects.
N1 both directions in JHB blockaded by residents of Diepkloof because they don't want to pay electricity. Vuka darkie!! pic.twitter.com/6Qw5TPwB8G
— Black lawyer (@nrrattorneys) December 6, 2021
After a brief clash with protesters, public order police managed to clear the highway and restore a semblance of order in traffic flow. However, the Diepkloof protest was still observed in areas of the township and surrounds.
Motorists travelling in the township are advised to avoid routes going in and out of Zone 2, 3 and 4. More particularly, protest activity has been concentrated on Rand Show Road and Diepmeadow.
Why are Diepkloof residents protesting?
The unrest in Diepkloof comes after Eskom confirmed households in Zone 3 would be disconnected from the power grid “due to high energy losses as a result of illegal connections, meter bypassing & buying electricity from ghost vendors.”
#EskomGauteng #DiepkloofDisconnection
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 30, 2021
Supply to Diepkloof Zone 3 has been disconnected due to high energy losses as a result of illegal connections, meter bypassing & buying electricity from ghost vendors. Reconnection fees have to be paid before supply can be restored.
This harsh stance, according to Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi, was a necessary measure to enforcing a strict no-pay-no-power policy in the region.
Qithi added in a statement released prior to the disconnection, that high electricity usage was recorded inDiepkloof households that had prepaid meters but a remarkably low history of unit purchases.
“Ever since we have converted the area into prepaid, they are not buying electricity. We then gave them fines of R6 052 per household. Illegal connections are rife, which is why they don’t buy electricity because they are illegally connected,” Qithi added.
Diepkloof residents affected by the outage demand immediate reinstatement of electricity and an audience with Eskom decision-makers. These calls, however, had fallen on deaf ears at the time this article was published.