ETHEKWINI Municipality remains committed to creating sustainable employment opportunities and improving the lives of all residents especially the poor. One way this will be achieved is through the roll out of the national solar water heater programme.
Residents will not only benefit from having hot water available to them, local labour will also be employed in the project. While the areas where the programme will be implemented are still to be decided, the most deserving and neediest residents will be considered. Previously, about 30 000 heaters were installed in eThekwini homes in an earlier roll out of the project in 2012.
An overview of the new programme was discussed at an Executive Committee meeting on 21 November. The programme, to roll out solar water geysers, will be funded by the national Department of Energy and will be installed through the utilisation of local resources. The report tabled by the Executive Committee stated that the national Department of Energy approached the Municipality to participate in the national programme for the generation of job opportunities.
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The programme will have two components namely the Social Programme and the Load Reduction Programme. The Load Reduction Programme will target higher income homes and will only be partially subsidised and will not be offered to low income suburbs.
Meanwhile, the Social Programme will be fully subsidised and will be free to recipients. Work will be carried out by local labour and local contractors trained by the Department of Energy. The participation of local labour is in line with Municipal procedures which is integral to this programme.
Furthermore, the City will ensure all installations are of good quality. Chairperson of the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee Councillor Mondli Mthembu said: “We will ensure that the distribution will target the poorest of the poor to ensure we put geysers where they are needed most.”
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