DURBAN - THE informal settlements without electricity after their connections were destroyed by various natural disasters and in the fires, would soon be legally connected – at no cost.
This was agreed to by the eThekwini Municipality’s Executive Committee (Exco) on Tuesday.
The estimated R3-million project was approved despite an earlier objection by the DA that the matter was not on the agenda.
The affected areas to benefit included Lacey Road Informal Settlement, New Germany Road Informal Settlement, Umgudulu Informal Settlement in Reservoir Hills, Shannon Drive Informal Settlement and Jadhu Place Informal Settlement.
The spate of recent natural disasters in the city had left scores of communities without electricity, with homes, roads and infrastructure damaged.
The report referred to the Umgudulu informal residents protesting on Monday. They had blockaded and closed roads in the area because their electricity was not re-instated.
According to the report, electricity connections to informal settlements were funded by the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP), which made the contribution towards the initial electricity connection through a subsidy.
Municipal official Sbusiso Makhanya said ordinarily there was no budget for electricity connections of informal settlements destroyed by natural disasters. He said it was an emergency that would get funding from other departments and needed approval from the council.
There were 535 informal settlements within the municipality that would have electricity installed.
To date, a total of 184 settlements have been electrified, 131 have been partially electrified and 220 were still to be electrified. The programme included houses built on privately-owned land, houses built on unstable land and houses built on flood plains.
DA eThekwini chief whip Thabani Mthethwa said he was unhappy with the way the report was tabled.
“We, however, appreciate its emergency because we support the project of installing electricity in informal settlements, especially those who connect electricity illegally. Illegal connections create loss of revenue for the city when people do not pay for the services. It also becomes a problem for the city when the load becomes too heavy to carry. We find that there are more electricity cuts, inconveniencing innocent residents who are paying for electricity,” said Mthethwa.
Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda visited Reservoir Hills on Monday to speak to the informal residents who had embarked on a violent protest over service delivery.
Just after midnight, about 15 people had gathered on the road and blocked off the M19 at Mountbatten Drive, near the Westville turn-off.
Among the issues raised by the community included the lack of maintenance of public ablution facilities and the installation of electricity in houses that had been affected by fire.
Metro Public Order Protection officers later dispersed the group.
Two hours later, the group returned with a larger group of about 100 people, who burnt tyres and trees. They blocked off both sides of the highway.
Kaunda arrived just after 7am and met the group, which later dispersed after the mayor left the area.
Kaunda instructed city officials to urgently attend to the complaints as they posed a health and safety risk.
Mthethwa said illegal and violent protests should not be tolerated because it inconvenienced innocent members of the community. “People who use violence to get the attention of the municipality should face the law,” said Mthethwa.
Daily News