Bus blockades strand Soweto commuters while electricity and service delivery woes deepen

Main roads along some Rea Vaya main bus routes were blockaded with stones and debris in Soweto’s Pimville, Orlando and Jabulani on Monday morning.

The protest follows meetings in Soweto last week over continuing power cuts and service delivery issues.

Because of safety concerns, Rea Vaya services were suspended in the morning, leaving some of the 45,000 commuters who rely on the bus service stranded.

Police clearing barricades on the old Potchefstroom road in Soweto after residents protested over electricity in the area. Photo: Supplied

“I was surprised by it all; luckily I had extra cash to catch a taxi as soon as I learnt that no bus was going to turn up,” Nomfundo Mazibuko from Moletsane in Soweto said.

“There was just no point in going to work because I rely on the bus,” said Jacob Mabote, a security guard who works in Sandton.

“My work was affected by the bus service cancellation, but as soon as it came to my attention that the communities were protesting over power cuts, I was encouraged. Imagine returning home from work tired, but you cannot even bathe and cook because there is no power,” said Sinenhlanhla Sithole from Orlando East.

Power issues affecting many Soweto households include billing, the installation of prepaid meters and debt recovery.

Some Soweto residents have deemed the billing system as unfair and unaffordable and have called for the introduction of a flat rate. Eskom said those who were struggling to pay should come forward and they would be assisted.

Prepaid meters are also controversial. Soweto residents were opposed to  prepaid meters from the start some years ago, while Eskom pushed forward with the idea.

The third issue is debt recovery. According to Eskom, as of April, Soweto residents owed the power utility R4.56-billion.

Early on Monday, the City of Johannesburg, through its social media channels, alerted residents to the closures of main roads along the Rea Vaya bus routes because of blockades by protesters.

“All buses have been stopped coming from the depot and the first buses that were on the route were turned back to the depot. Currently, Rea Vaya services have been suspended,” the city said.

What’s being done

Cable theft has become a major problem for Eskom and identified as the main cause of power cuts. The power utility said it lost R9-million through cable theft from March 2021 to March 2022.

Eskom said it had put together measures to curb the scourge of cable theft. These include:

• The use of airborne tactical response and drone surveillance technology;


• Active intelligence and data mining to profile crimes;


• The use of asset tracking systems to monitor the movement of key and high-value assets; and


• The focused investigation of high-impact incidents.

A joint forum has been established between Eskom, Transnet, Telkom and Prasa to address the scourge of copper cable theft and infrastructure crime and develop strategies jointly to address risks and reduce security costs.

Many Soweto communities have been without electricity for months. These include Moletsane, Protea South, Chiawelo, Orlando and Zola. The areas which do have power are subjected to endless load reduction.

Load reduction is implemented in areas in which there is an indication that Eskom electricity is being stolen, through illegal connections or other means.

Roads including Koma Road, Chris Hani Road and Bolani Road in Jabulani were affected by the blockades, while residents of Moletsane continued protesting into the afternoon.

Members of the South African Police Service and Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) kept a close watch. The JMPD’s Xolani Fihla said they had not received any reports of violence from the protest scenes.

Police cleared barricades on the old Potchefstroom road in Soweto after residents protested over electricity in the area. Photo: Supplied

At 3pm on Monday, Rea Vaya said: “Rea Vaya service remains suspended for the day. Upgrades regarding operations tomorrow will be communicated in time. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

Phindile Khumalo (58) from Emdeni in Soweto said: “Eskom has not respected any of our undertakings. We are dealing with old issues for which Eskom does not want to take responsibility. We asked for a flat rate, which was denied.

“Instead, Eskom invited those who cannot pay for their power to come forward for assistance. This in itself is intimidating. Why are we not treated as a community?”

Meanwhile, through his social media channels, one of the organisers of Monday’s protest,  Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini, confirmed there would be a march to Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse’s office on Tuesday to protest against Eskom and service delivery failures. DM