• City Power has vowed that it will continue to clamp down on illegal connections.
• Officials removed more than 50 tons of illegal cables at Slovo Park in Coronationville.
• Residents have pleaded with the City to provide legal electricity.

City Power has promised to continue clamping down on illegal connections in its jurisdiction.

On Thursday, City Power officials, accompanied by contractors, removed more than 50 tons of illegal cables at Slovo Park informal settlement in Coronationville. 

Exposed wires were running above shacks and along the ground. 

Some wires hung from tall wooden sticks, while others ran from the nearby railway tracks into shacks.

Residents said they have been illegally connecting electricity into their homes for many years.

They claim that they only pay a once-off fee to people who illegally connect power to their homes.

Kgosithebe Morolong asked the City of Johannesburg to provide the area with legal electricity.

"We have been using candles for many years, [as we are] without electricity. We then decided to illegally connect power into our homes. We pay people who illegally connect power into our homes.

"We pay a little amount, depending on how much you have. They connect power using exposed wires, which are dangerous to everyone here," said Morolong.

Mathapelo Jantjies said they were shocked when officials removed the cables in the area.

"I have been living here for three years. I am renting a shack, paying R400 per month. My landlord is supplying me with electricity. I used to pay a monthly fee of between R200 and R300 for illegal electricity," said Jantjies.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said they have received many complaints of overloading from paying residents, who live in the surrounding areas.

Mangena said residents are experiencing constant outages, due to illegal connections, including the nearby Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital.

According to Mangena, the hospital is severely affected by power trips caused by illegal connections in Slovo Park.

"Slovo Park is a huge area and needs extra capacity and, as such, we have many problems of illegal connections. We have removed more than 50 tons of wires that were illegally connected.

"Some of the wires we removed belong to City Power and Prasa. We are working with several law enforcement agencies to ensure that, when we leave an area after cut offs, there are no reconnections," said Mangena.