Bleak winter ahead as power gets stuck on paper

A primary school and 52 households adjacent to the Ncora Irrigation Scheme farm have been connected to the electricity grid at a cost of R1m. At least on paper.

In reality, the villagers — mostly uneducated pensioners, some of whom have never had electricity — will endure yet another unforgiving winter in the dark.

And judging by the explanations offered in a closed Intsika Yethu municipality virtual executive forum on Thursday, the residents could be sent further down the electrification pecking order.

The blackout coincides with a proposal to parliament by mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe to slash funds for household electrification in future financial years.

Intsika Yethu municipality, in its 2019/20 report, said it had spent its R12m electrification budget, including R1m on the off-grid village in Ncora.

The R12m — from Nersa’s Integrated National Electrification Programme [Inep] — was meant for the electrification of some 600 households.

Municipal manager Siyabulela Koyo told the forum the budget had been spent on materials.

Of concern from the presentation to the forum is that labour costs have already been paid for the electrification project, though no work has been done at the village.

Budget & treasury head and EFF councillor Wonga Dunjwa, speaker Khanyisa Mdleleni and traditional leader Mzwamadoda Zwelivumile Sabata say the way the budget had been previously presented was that the R1m was for electrification of the school and the 52 households — and not just “for the purchase of electricity materials”. 

Koyo told the forum the electrification of Ncora had “encountered escalating costs” owing to challenges such as boulders.

He said the energy department would have to re-gazette the budget in September, and the municipality would ask the department for more money.

Koyo said: “What they [the municipal department responsible for electrification] ended up doing was to buy all the materials for all the 647 households because they needed to quantify how much would be needed extra to pay the labour part in installation.

“The 647 is inclusive of Ncora. By June 30 they had spent all the material and all the labour up until then.

“Specifically for Ncora, we have material but we will send in contractors when issues around Ncora are involved.”

These “issues”, he said, pertained to the adjacent farm’s Eskom account, which is said to be in arrears.

Residents contend they have nothing to do with the farm.

ANC councillor Zukiswa Qayiya told the forum that the Inep budget for households was R18,000 a unit, but the actual work had cost more.

Speaker Khanyisa Mdleleni said Koyo’s previous report had said the electrification project was at 100% and that he had previously said this included Ncora.

“But today we’re being told only the material was bought.”

Koyo said: “In terms of the spending, it’s at 100%, which is made up of material bought and labour that has been paid for. There was an increase in the cost for connection.

“If Ncora cannot duplicate and we cannot stream it with the material we’ve bought, it means ... that material for the 50 households in Ncora will have to be allocated elsewhere.”

Sabata and residents demand to know why there is no site, if the municipality’s account is to be believed.

Sabata said Koyo was “trying to spin” the municipality’s way out of a mess it had created.

Funded by Inep, municipalities are tasked with reticulation and distribution of electricity to households.

While some residents say they used an abandoned apartheid-era Tescor transmitter over the years until 2009, when their connection was cut, others say the authorities have never connected them since the advent of democracy.

Dunjwa told the Dispatch that Koyo’s responses were misleading.

Ncora private school technology teacher Justice Chidehindi charges his laptop in a neighbouring village and has to dash back to class to make a presentation with the device, whose battery lasts less than an hour. The school makes photocopies for pupils in Komani, some 130km away.

“It surprises us that the municipality says it spent all [the money]. It’s dark and cold here. We have no light. We use candles,” said Mzimasi Bono, 71, a resident of 30 years.

Nombulelo Mayekiso said: “We use gas. For reasons unknown to us the councillors we have don’t want to see electrification take place here. We vote for them, but they can’t deliver a service as basic as electricity. We have nowhere to go. We’ve been here for a long time.”

Lulama Xhego said: “There has never been any Eskom electricity here. We used an old apartheid-era transmitter, which was abandoned quite some time into democracy.”

Intsika Yethu municipality spokesperson Zuko Tshangana had not responded at the time of writing. Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela also did not respond.