Municipality approves electricity provision for Edendale
•Fri, 5 Oct 2007

By Thabisile Gumede

RESIDENTS in the greater Edendale area can look forward to brighter surroundings after the Msunduzi Municipality’s executive committee (Exco) yesterday approved the long awaited provision of funding for electricity connections to indigent households inclusive of low-cost housing schemes and informal settlements.

Edendale councillors previously expressed dissatisfaction with council’s failure to spend the budget of R5,81 million received from National Treasury for Free Basic Electricity (FBE), while neglecting the Greater Edendale area when it comes to the provision of free basic electricity to the Greater Edendale Development Initiative (Gedi) and indigent households. The municipality has only managed to spend R12 574,27 from FBE budgeted for the 2007/08 financial year.

Due to the slow housing delivery process aimed at including the provision of electricity connections, communities have become impatient and have expressed displeasure at utilising alternative sources of energy like liquid paraffin as a substitute.

The municipality will connect 1 250 houses, each connection estimated to cost R4 000. However, special caution will be taken in selecting which indigent households qualify for the electricity. Inhabitants whose houses are built in areas where there is soil erosion, around swamp areas and Spoornet servitudes, nearby rivers or dangerous electric lines and muddy houses with no formal plan or those that are not listed on the housing department’s plan to be replaced as low-cost houses within five years will not have electricity connected as this would pose a risk to
the inhabitants.

By funding this initiative, the municipality hopes to relieve electricity service provider Eskom from the burden of funding these connections and fast track service delivery which has been slowed down by residents connecting electricity illegally in the Edendale area.

Phil Mashoko, strategic executive manager of infrastructure, services and facilities, said that the approval of the electricity connections will assist the business unit to deal with challenges that have resulted in certain communities in the Edendale area being without electricity for the past 15 years.

Electricity manager Maxwell Mthembu said that the connection of electricity to indigent households will have a positive influence on the community as a whole as it will lead to job creation and increase productivity levels.

Published: 5 October 2007