In Soweto, he said, there were three spots — Chiawelo, Diepkloof and Rockville — where people were complaining about ongoing blackouts.
“This will make sure that we restore electricity in many areas. We had 44 mini-substations that were out of order and so far we have replaced eight between us and Eskom, and people are getting connected,” he said. Moerane said the city had signed a memorandum of understanding with Eskom to kick-start the takeover process of Soweto, Ivory Park, Diepsloot and Sandton.
While electricity is the dominant problem in Soweto, other Chiawelo residents hoped that the government would fight crime, create employment for the youth, provide water and houses, and fix the ageing infrastructure. Her daughter, Johanna Majujwa, 60, translated for her mother, saying: “She wants things to improve because people still do not have water, electricity or jobs. In the past everything was fine but now the youngsters smoke nyaope and as the elderly we are scared of them.