By Thapelo Molefe
Residents in Tembisa barricaded major roads with burning tyres and rocks on Monday as protests over electricity disconnections and alleged overbilling intensified, prompting a political clash inside the City of Ekurhuleni.
Several roads, including Brian Mazibuko Drive and RTJ Namane Drive, were affected, with the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department and the South African Police Service deployed to monitor the situation and maintain public order.
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Residents say they are protesting against harsh credit control measures by the metro, including intensified electricity disconnections, termination notices and ongoing billing disputes. Some community members allege they have been overcharged for months and left without water and electricity.
“We are not backing down until a solution comes out,” one resident said during the protest.
The unrest follows a statement issued by Executive Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza on Sunday, ahead of the planned protest action.
In it, he announced an immediate halt to the issuing of pre-termination and termination letters, as well as the disconnection of registered indigent and deemed indigent households, pending a comprehensive investigation into residents’ concerns about billing and the city’s indigent policy.
The mayor also committed the city to progressively restoring electricity to qualifying households, reviewing its indigent policy and initiating a process to scrap outstanding debt for verified indigent residents.
He said the City must balance financial sustainability with its constitutional obligation to protect vulnerable communities.
However, the intervention has sparked sharp criticism from the Democratic Alliance (DA), which accused the mayor of acting outside his authority and pandering to protest action.
DA caucus leader in Ekurhuleni, Brandon Pretorius, said the unilateral decision to halt electricity termination notices was unlawful and set a dangerous precedent.
“The Executive Mayor does not rule by divine decree,” Pretorius said.
“If the matter must be resolved urgently, then a special council meeting must be held so that a fully constituted council can chart the way forward.”
He further argued that the mayor had no sole mandate to amend or suspend credit control policies, warning that governance by decree undermines council oversight and the rule of law.
“Faced with violence, he has once again decreed a populist solution to a complex matter over which he has no sole mandate,” Pretorius added.
“This is not about Tembisa alone – residents across Ekurhuleni are struggling to pay for services, and ad hoc decrees only create financial instability for the whole metro.”
Pretorius also said similar decisions taken previously, such as scrapping the Tariff A service charge in June 2025, had strained the city’s finances.
City Manager Kagiso Lerutla visited the Winnie Mandela Customer Care Centre in Tembisa to engage staff following the unrest, while MMC for Finance and Strategy Alderman Jongizizwe Dlabathi was scheduled to meet community stakeholders in an effort to find a resolution.
