After 40 years of living in darkness, the future is looking bright for the residents of Sitaram Informal Settlement in Tongaat who were recently put on the power grid.
Prepaid electricity meters were installed in their homes, meaning that the residents will no longer have to cook outside on fires or use candles for light. With the installation of electricity, the eThekwini Municipality is hopeful that this will reduce the number of illegal connections and shack fires in the area Municipal Spokesperson, Mandla Nsele, said the project is called the “Emona Electrification Project” and that the electrification could only start once relocation was completed, hence the project officially started in November 2020. “For the project to run smoothly the Electricity Department first collected applications for the electrification of the informal settlement in mid-2018 but later discovered that the area was due for a housing project which involved the relocation of residents. Two hundred and fifty houses are to be electrified. The electrification is 98% done although there is no set date for completion at this stage. However, we expect to finish soon and we ask the residents to be patient with us.” One of the beneficiaries of the electrification project, Bawinile Khoza, said this is the first time electricity has been installed in her home and that she was excited to finally have proper lighting. “It was very difficult living without electricity. I always had to made sure there was firewood at home. If there wasn’t any I’d have to go out and collect some. Cooking on rainy days means I have to light a fire in a special room we built.”
Khoza lives with her mother and her four children. At night she uses candles in her home for light. “This was the only way the children could study. In the winter season it gets dark very fast so we have to prepare early. If we don’t, we lose all the natural light come nightfall, and we can’t see anything.” Grateful for the electricity meters, Khoza is now able to use a stove to cook and other appliances to keep warm. “The house we live in isn’t warm. There are gaps in the roof; when rain and cold wind get through. Electricity will help us get through nights like these.” Another resident, Nompilo Nxumalo, has lived in the settlement without electricity for 25 years. She runs a tuck shop which helps support her husband and three children. From her tuck shop she makes and sells fresh vetkoek. “I had no choice but to make the vetkoek on a fire. I had to ensure there was firewood every day. This took so much time and energy. Now I can focus all that time into making goods to sell.” Nxumalo said electricity will also help her family keep warm at night. “Winter nights are very cold. Sometimes the wind comes into the house and we freeze. Blankets are all we have to keep us warm in the darkness. I am so grateful for these prepaid boxes. At least now we can have light and warmth, and cooking will be much easier.”
