‘You’re talking sh*t’: Joburg mayor Morero says sorry after fiery Tshepisong exchange over power crisis

Dada Morero

Johannesburg – Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has apologised after a heated exchange with a Tshepisong resident during a community meeting over the township’s ongoing electricity crisis.

The confrontation took place on Thursday at the Abundant Faith Christian Centre, where Morero and City of Johannesburg officials were meeting residents to discuss electricity challenges in the area.

According to IOL, the exchange began after a resident allegedly called Morero a “criminal”. The mayor repeatedly rejected the accusation before losing his temper and telling the resident: “You’re talking sh*t.”

The report said that Morero was also heard telling the resident: “Don’t call me a criminal. I’m not a criminal. Don’t ever do that again.”

The confrontation was captured on video and subsequently circulated widely on social media.

The mayor later issued an apology, taking responsibility for his conduct during the meeting.

“I would like to profusely and unconditionally apologise for my utterances,” Morero said in a video shared by the City of Johannesburg.

“It should not have been done in that fashion, and I do take full responsibility,” he added, saying he had also spoken to the resident and that the meeting had accepted his apology.

The meeting was convened amid continuing electricity problems in Tshepisong, with residents demanding answers over prolonged disruptions and the restoration of services.

Sowetan reported that City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane told residents that the area has about 12,000 registered prepaid electricity customers, but only slightly more than 200 were actively purchasing electricity, while about 11,700 were classified as non-vending.

Network normalisation process

“This is a serious concern. One that is not sustainable,” Tlouane said.

City Power has previously said it withdrew technical restoration and maintenance services in Tshepisong because of widespread illegal connections, vandalism, sabotage and repeated unlawful reconnections of infrastructure.

The utility said about 97% of customers in the area were not purchasing electricity. It also reported incidents in which newly installed transformers were illegally reconnected and wires were thrown onto electricity lines, deliberately tripping the network.

Morero told residents that the City would begin a network normalisation process on Monday, including audits to establish whether the existing electricity infrastructure has sufficient capacity to meet demand. The City also plans to address illegal connections in the area.

The incident has nevertheless drawn criticism, with the EFF condemning the mayor’s conduct and arguing that residents have the right to raise concerns about service delivery without being subjected to insults.

Morero’s apology has since shifted attention back to the central issue raised at the meeting: restoring a reliable and sustainable electricity supply to Tshepisong.

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