Disgruntled BCM residents on Monday accused the metro of folding its arms “while residents continue to die” of illegal electricity connections.
Mayor Xola Pakati fielded a wave of bitterness and disillusionment at his last 2018 mayoral imbizo at Jan Smuts stadium, attended by hundreds of residents from the metro’s coastal areas who came to voice their grievances long and loud.
In response to last year’s call for the electrification of shacks Pakati said: “In ward 8 they wanted electrification of shacks but what we can report is that when electrifying shacks you need space between the shacks and we need to relocate other residents, do de-densification so that there is space for electricity poles.
“You don’t just install electricity, because electricity is dangerous.
“We must make sure that when we install electricity the layout plan allows for that to happen but we are looking at an alternative method of electrification in shacks. We are working on that right now.”
“In ward 13 they said they wanted electricity in shacks, they are part of the group we are looking into the alternative electrification method for.”
This standard answer to all the wards that requested electrification of shacks made some residents angry.
Mzamomhle resident Lindelwa Maninjwa said Pakati made her sleepy with his “stories”.
“At last year’s imbizo I was here speaking on behalf of my ward and even now I’m back to speak for my ward.
“I heard you speak, mayor, about things we had raised in last year’s imbizo. I became so sleepy sitting in that chair because stories make me sleepy. The things you have said here, you are not saying anything to tell us that you have finished some projects.
“Everything you are saying, you are just saying ‘no we are still looking at it’. There is nothing that says in ward 27 we have finished these projects.
“There is nothing that was done in that ward. You were in Mzamomhle in 2016 and said electricity would be installed in all shacks. Until today there is still an electricity war in our community between houses and shacks. I won’t come here and clap hands like a mad person. We are still struggling and crying for electricity and toilets in shacks. The living conditions are bad,” said Maninjwa.
She felt she was raising the issues with little hope of seeing action. “Everyone here is complaining it’s like our municipality is fast asleep. There is nothing that is moving forward. It’s pace is slow. We all know that there is no service delivery in BCM. The most important thing is electrification of shacks, people are fighting. If you could start with the electricity you promised in 2016 things would be better. Electricity is a priority,” she said to applause.
Puleng Morweng from Cambridge said there was no electricity in shacks in Cambridge.
“We have a problem from Cambridge to Amalinda.
“Children are dying because we don’t have electricity. The situation is the same in Amalinda. We were promised these things but they are not implemented,” Morweng said.
Nomaphoyisa Getyana from ward 7 said: “Thanks, mayor, we can see some of the things you have mentioned here in ward 7 but let me ask housing (construction) to be fast. For years we have been told that 2,500 houses would be built but that is not happening. Nothing is moving. BCM promised us electricity. I did not even hear the mayor speaking about that. The shacks don’t have electricity in ward 7. The mayor said electricity always trips in our area. That’s true and it will stop tripping the day you build houses for us because izinyoka are too much. We have experts who reconnect as soon as BCM has disconnected because we don't have houses.
“If you build houses for us we won’t steal electricity. Each person will have their own electricity box,” said Getyana.
Speaking to the Dispatch after the imbizo, Pakati said the alternative methods were needed as there was densification in the informal settlements “such that it becomes impossible to install electricity”.
“What we need to do is look at alternative electrification that is not connected to the grid.
“If you do that you won’t need Eskom poles because during the process of electrification we need to ensure that there are spaces in between the shacks.
“You can’t just go into a place and electrify because Eskom does not do that and it won’t pass in terms of regulations.
“Now we are looking at alternatives because we have 154 informal settlements, the population continues to grow and the need for electrification and housing is a moving target.”
He said wind and solar energy systems were some of the alternatives the metro was looking into.
“It’s not going to be possible to electrify everybody this financial year because we have set aside only R10m for that, which makes it impossible to reach everyone.
“We are looking at the alternatives probably in the next financial year,” Pakati said...