Pretoria - Traffic was seriously disrupted on the Mabopane Highway, which was barricaded with burning tyres by some residents in Soshanguve Block XX protesting over a power outage.
Angry protesters hurled stones at the SAPS officers who tried to disperse them by firing rubber bullets near the Hebron road.
Hostile protesters, who refused to be identified, said they had been without power since Monday.
"We have kids who are going to school and they have been forced to bath with cold water for four days now," said a woman still in her pyjamas.
One of them said numerous efforts made by the residents to contact the City of Tshwane failed to yield positive results.
The protest was started last night with residents blockading the highway, disrupting motorists driving back from Pretoria.
Some residents said they had to bunk work because they didn't feel safe to drive near the township.
Residents in at least four regions of the City were also left in the dark due to power cuts.
The City said the ongoing illegal strike action by workers claiming to be affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) was hampering service delivery.
Spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the City technicians have gradually begun the process of restoring power to some areas.
Residents in region three, which includes Kwaggasrand, West Park, Saulsville, Danville and Westview had their power restored.
Bokaba said power was also restored in Laudium, a portion of Valhalla and Erasmia. Other areas affected were Zithobeni, Olievenhoutbosch and parts of some suburbs in the east of Pretoria.
Bokaba said the strike was causing prolonged delays to the City to respond to some of the outages.
"The unlawful ongoing strike action is being driven by members claiming to be affiliated to Samwu," he said.
He said the acting city manager Maseabata Mmutlaneng issued an internal memorandum instructing employees to refrain from participating in the illegal strike and return to work immediately.
The City reported that it had enlisted services of the SAPS and metro police to escort municipal technicians into places which experienced power outages.
"The City is in the process of systematically addressing the service delivery blockages to ensure we adequately respond to the backlogs that we are experiencing," Bokaba said.
He said the majority of municipal workers were performing their duties while an isolated group are attempting to disrupt the work of administration.
"We wish to apologise to residents for the delays that some of them are experiencing," he said.
Pretoria News