WATCH: Turffontein residents give JOSHCO 72 hours to respond to electricity demands

Turffontein residents living in Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) flats took to the streets, closing Evans Street in protest against increased electricity tariffs and demanding answers from the housing company.

Residents are seeking clarity on why electricity is supplied through an intermediary rather than directly by City Power. They are questioning the arrangement and calling for greater transparency over their electricity costs.

SAPS and JMPD officers, along with Ward councillor Rashieda Landis, were at the scene as the protest unfolded.

During the protest, residents and committee members handed a memorandum outlining their concerns and demands to JOSHCO. A representative of the housing company, Lindiwe, received and signed for the memorandum.

Residents gave JOSHCO 72 hours to respond to their questions and demands.

Langa Klaas, who represented the tenants, said residents had been seeking an explanation from JOSHCO about changes to their electricity supply arrangements.

She said the committee had sent emails to the relevant officials, including the project manager, senior management, the chief executive officer and the MMC, requesting a meeting to explain why residents had not been moved from the previous service provider to City Power as they had expected.

“We got a response, but that was not the proper response. The proper response that we wanted was for them to come sit with us as the committee,” Klaas said.

She said residents wanted the company to explain the reasons for the change and what it meant for them, rather than being left without clarity.

Klaas also raised concerns about the cost of electricity under the current arrangement. She said residents felt the tariffs were worse than those charged by the previous service provider.

She cited examples of residents receiving limited electricity for the money they spent and said households were struggling with the ongoing cost of buying electricity.

The memorandum sets out the residents’ concerns and their requested resolutions.

Addressing residents, Lindiwe apologised for the time taken to respond to their concerns.

“Firstly, before I start, I would like to say I want to apologise for the time that we took to respond to you guys. We really, really, really apologise for that,” she said.

She said JOSHCO would not be able to provide answers immediately at the protest, but would arrange a meeting involving the leaders mandated to submit the memorandum to JOSHCO’s CEO and City Power.

“Your requests are heard and make sense. We will submit and hopefully within that 72 hours we will get a response,” she said.

Landis thanked Lindiwe for coming to meet the residents and urged the community to disperse peacefully while awaiting the outcome.

She said she would remain involved in the process and asked to be included in email correspondence about the matter.

Landis also appealed to residents to clean up the area after the protest.

The demonstration highlighted residents’ concerns about electricity costs, the supply arrangement and a lack of communication. Residents also raised issues relating to water and parking infrastructure at the housing complex.

Desnay Peterson 2 minutes read Facebook X LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest WhatsApp Telegram Share via Email Print Support local journalism Add The Citizen as a preferred source to see more from Southern Courier in Google News and Top Stories.