Give us services, residents of Booysen Park’s Vastrap informal settlements implored on Wednesday.
The lack of adequate services like electricity and houses was forcing them to resort to connecting electricity illegally, they said.
The residents were speaking to mayor Mongameli Bobani and members of his mayoral committee.
The city reportedly lost about R236.6m in revenue due to illegal connections between July 2017 and March.
Resident Simphiwe Busakwe said because people were desperate for electricity, they turned to illegal connections.
Busakwe said that children in the area suffered from asthma and other illnesses due to the cold from shack-living.
“When people feel cornered and the need to provide for their families, they will do whatever they can to ensure they are safe and warm.”
Zolani Mguqula, who has lived in a shack in the area for 12 years, said they had suffered a lot due to the heavy rains that hit the metro in the past week, which flooded their shacks.
“We’ve never been assisted here. Even now, different councillors and mayors keep making us promises.
“We also have rats eating our children and nothing is being done,” Mguqula said.
Another resident said illegal connections lying on the ground lay in puddles, killing people and cattle.
Bobani has vowed to clamp down on illegal electricity connections, saying the city would provide electricity.
Standing in front of the Auburn Street power substation – where illegal connections are apparent – on Wednesday morning, Bobani said he would fix the problem immediately because he did not want residents to die.
The delegation visited the area following service delivery protests earlier this week.
Cars were torched as residents complained about a lack of adequate service delivery and the high crime rate in the area, as well as the need for RDP houses.
“This needs urgent attention and by no later than today it needs to be fixed,” Bobani said.
“We are not here to take away what assists you.
“We must be able to create an environment where we are able to assist you [with your] living conditions.
“We are here to solve the problem, we need to work together as government and the community,” Bobani said.
Infrastructure and engineering political head Andile Lungisa said the municipality would work to ensure there are serviced sites for residents.
“We will have a discussion with officials to see what we can do because this situation is very bad. We will attend to the issues of this community with speed,” Lungisa said.