ILLEGAL connections in Clare Estate are setting back the eThekwini Municipality about R700 000 every two years.
Haniff Hassan, Clare Estate councillor said the illegal connections cause the mini-substations to overheat and fail, costing the city about R700 000 to replace them once they have been damaged.
“That’s been going on for the last 20 years,” he said.
Hassan said currently a housing project was under construction near Kennedy Road.
“We are working in the area, the process is a bit slow but have requested the pipeline for electrification be done done internally.”
He said plans were to build 250 units to house 250 families currently living in the informal settlements.
The units will be fitted with prepaid electricity meters which will be a more formal and safer process. This will also lessen the burden on the city which currently bears the cost of the illegal connections because electricity is being sourced from the main frame.
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“There are shacklords who rent out the property, even to students, and collect a lot of money. When officials come to fix the connections, they are chased away and threatened. They are more than happy with the free illegal connections and make a lot of money from this,” said Hassan.
The illegal connections have created an unsafe environment, said Hassan, and affect both informal and formal residents in the area.
“When a person gets electrocuted, it is not reported to the authorities because they are running illegal connections. It is not safe for children, when I walk there, there are electricity lines running over your head,” said Hassan.
The eThekwini municipality said it has long been aware of the problem at Clare Estate and hopes the new housing development will work towards ending the scourge of illegal connections.
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