No electricity, no vote says Nzhelele residents
Hulisani Netshiongolwe said they had been engaging with the Makhado Municipality about the electrification of zones three and four in Matanda, but have only received “unfulfilled promises”.
LIMPOPO – A long-delayed electrification project at Matanda village in Nzhelele has led residents to embark on an intensive plan of boycotting the local government election later this month.
They handed a memorandum of their grievances to the Eskom manager in Vhembe, Vhamusanda Vho-Ntshavheni Nenguda in Thohoyandou last Monday, with the primary aim of securing electricity for their village.
Representing the communities and serving as the convener of the march, Hulisani Netshiongolwe said they had been engaging with the Makhado Municipality about the electrification of zones three and four in Matanda, but have only received “unfulfilled promises”.
“Boycotting the election will speak louder than voting. As residents, we are sceptical about the unrealistic promises of supplying electricity to our settlement by the municipality. We were promised electricity long ago, and it seems like we will die waiting for it. We strongly believe that we have been forgotten by our government.”
According to the IDP, Matanda should have been electrified in June 2022, Netshiongolwe said. Residents told him that they were tired of using candles, primus stoves, and chopping down trees for energy. To add insult to injury, many of their surrounding villages has seen development and the provision of water and electricity, he added.
“We were surprised to see new extensions in our neighbouring villages being electrified before us.
“The only way to raise our concerns is to boycott the local government election until we see development.”
Nenguda, who received the memorandum of grievances, said Eskom is instructed by the municipality if there is any need for electrification. He stated that it is the responsibility of the municipality to electrify households within its area, while Eskom only acts as a service delivery agent. “As the municipality, they plan, prioritise, and decide which areas are to be electrified first, based on their priority list and in accordance with their integrated development plan.” He advised the community to go back to the Makhado Municipality for assistance.
Makhado local councillor Mpho Mukosi commented that when community members of wards 32, 34, and 38 in the Makhado Municipality, which include Matanda, Funyufunyu, Rabali and Posaito, engaged with Eskom Polokwane, he met with an official who visited the villages in November and committed to return after consulting with the Makhado Municipality. No further information could be drawn in terms of this progress.
