Ekuthuleni is electrified
“We also saw more shack dwellings over the years as people believed they would benefit from services like RDP houses.”
Kwa-Thema – After 20 years of living in the dark, the residents of Ekuthuleni informal settlement will finally have electricity.
A project to electrify the area was launched in December and is estimated to be completed at the end of March 2023.
It is estimated that 444 households will benefit from the project with four more high mast lights to be installed in the area.
Five local subcontractors were appointed to help accelerate the process.
Ward 74 councillor Thulane Simelane said in 2016, the metro initiated a project of electrifying the area but services were withdrawn due to challenges faced by the contractor on site.
“Unfortunately, 59 households were affected and this led to illegal connections, endangering the lives of the residents.
Also read: Illegal electricity connections in Ekuthuleni removed
“We also saw more shack dwellings over the years as people believed that they would benefit from services like RDP houses.
“Through negotiations with the metro, we are happy that they finally agreed to complete the project.
“We are now waiting for the metro to approve a budget for the affected households as the new system that we are implementing is different from the ones they have,” he explained.
Project community liaison officer (CLO) Sibusiso Mdletshe is urging residents not to make illegal connections to the new connections.
“We are pleading with residents to remove their illegal connections to make way for the contractor. The contractor won’t be able to connect with illegal connections still in place.
“We also have a challenge of residents stealing the newly installed cables at night,” he explained.
Simelane added that on Friday, he will have a meeting with residents to give them a progress report on the project.
Follow us on: 
