Tempers flare over electricity meters

Two metro officers and a man are fighting for their lives in hospital after they were shot in the ongoing violent protest over electricity meters in

Ekurhuleni.

The rollout of prepaid split-meters by Eskom is at the centre of clashes between the police and the community of Zone 1 in Katlehong.

The residents claim the new system will be too expensive and have been blocking technicians from the area which has been without electricity since Friday. The power utility has vowed to bring its workers back into the area once it is safe to do so.

Yesterday, a man was hit in the abdomen by a stray bullet while standing at a car wash in Masakhane Street as the protests reached intensity. It is alleged the bullet came from a security guard who had been escorting an Eskom vehicle carrying technicians.

The guard’s car was initially stoned before he climbed out and started shooting randomly at the protesters. He then jumped into the vehicle he had been escorting and fled the scene. The protesters then

petrol-bombed his abandoned car in Thutong Street while others rushed the injured man to the clinic.

Prior to yesterday’s violence, two Ekurhuleni metro officers were shot and wounded by unknown gunmen on Tuesday night as they were clearing Masakhane and Sukazi streets of traffic.

“Six officers were deployed to the area and they met a mob of about 200 people. As they were mopping up rubble, two shots rang out. One officer was hit in the stomach and another was hit in the area between the thigh and the hip. They were rushed to hospital where they were immediately operated on.

“They are still in serious but stable condition,” said Ekurhuleni metro police department spokesperson Wilfred Kgasago.

Masakhane Road connects sections in Zone 1 and remained barricaded with rocks and rubble while several traffic lights had been uprooted and left lying on the side of the road.

The residents said they were against a new prepaid electricity system which they say was never communicated to them.

They started voicing their unhappiness two months ago by chasing away technicians who were tasked to install the system.

“People that live in the suburbs have told us that it is very costly and Eskom never bothered to tell us how it would work and its implications,” said a community member.

The area uses the conventional post-paid system.

Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said the split-meter was no different from the ordinary prepaid system in terms of costs.

“The only difference is that the meter will be outside the house and the user will use a cellphone-like device to punch in their recharge pins. They still want the post-billing system but the problem with it is when users start disputing their bills at the end of the month and refuse to pay. We want to give them prepaid so that they can have a control of how much electricity they are consuming. It’s unfortunate that some leaders have misled the people for their own agenda,” said Phasiwe.

The residents turned their anger on Goba Community Clinic yesterday and forced staff to lock doors and gates at midday. The clinic has not been providing essential services since Friday when it lost electricity while its generator remained turned off. Patients could not be helped yesterday as the staff was locked in long meetings with officials from the provincial department.

Patients were later referred to other facilities.

@lindilesifile

The Star