The issue of illegal connections in Emona near Tongaat could have been dealt with if the applications for electricity by the residents of the informal settlements had not been denied countless times.
This is according to resident Johannes Gumede who has been staying in the area for more than 30 years.
“I cannot remember how many times we tried to apply for electricity but we were told that we must wait because electricity will come with a housing project for us,” said Gumede.
He said every year they were told that there is a housing project coming and that it will start before the end of the year.
“We cannot build proper houses for ourselves or extend our shacks because the municipality will demolish our houses, yet they do not provide the houses they promise every year,” said Gumede.
According to residents more than 20 people, including children, have died due to the illegal connections plaguing the area.
Where residents make these illegal connections from the overhead power lines, an electrical minefield is created.
You cannot touch a tree or lean against a building for fear of being electrocuted, and if you fall, there is 99% risk that you will end up between the live wires.
On Sunday, June 14, in an Emona ward meeting at the Tongaat municipal offices, ward 16 councillor Michael Abraham said the long promised housing project would begin as soon as next month.
“I cannot give a date yet but the project should start in July and there are 182 houses to be built,” said Abraham.
Whether the residents will finally get the houses and proper electricity connections that they have been promised, or if they will once again be disappointed remains to be seen.
