Stakeholders in charge of getting the project off the ground, such as Eskom and the CoJ Housing Department, were grilled with questions by the leadership of the informal settlement, following years of delays in the electrification process.
Mashaba, who chaired the meeting in Honeydew Police Station’s boardroom, gave the representatives of the entities involved a chance to state where the project stands as the leadership echoed they were tired of empty processes and the blame game being played between the City and Eskom.
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The meeting followed the deaths of two children who were killed by illegal connections. Subsequent to that, residents took their anger to the streets and blockaded roads, demanding the removal of illegal connections and the implementation of safe electricity from Eskom and the CoJ.
The housing aspect of the process
Director of Housing in Region C, Sello Mothotoana, shared some background, “The Gauteng Province intervened to electrify Zandspruit, but in June 2014, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement handed the Zandspruit project over to the CoJ, which took over from them”.
Mothotoana said, “After objections to the submission of a township plan were raised by a community near Cosmo City, we submitted three township plans, for Extensions 83, 84, and 85, which will provide approximately 7 000 units. These were discussed and approved. Extension 83’s plan contains urban amenities such as a clinic, schools and a taxi rank”.
He added that Extension 16, which has been approved as a township, was already undergoing electrification. “We have a general plan and are working on the opening of the township to register the properties. An audit of the area was done, indicating that there are 1 178 occupants, made up of foreign nationals and locals.”
Mashaba was unhappy with the prioritisation of housing for foreign nationals, stating that one cannot help foreign nationals when locals are also in need of services. “We’ve got a problem with undocumented foreign nationals in Zandspruit. The number is staggering – the ward councillors have indicated that up to 70 per cent of the inhabitants of some areas are foreigners. If you look at the high numbers of our people in Zandspruit, whom we are not in a position to help, why then do we want to take the responsibility for helping people of the world?” a dissatisfied Mashaba said.
Mothotoana also discussed the challenges to the project. “We told the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement that this project took the form of an Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme (UFP), and requested funding for the relocation of structures that were in the way of the electrification project. Gauteng Province appointed a service provider to construct a total of 139 homes in Extension 83. When we counted the structures that were in the way, inclusive of those in Extension 16, we discovered that there were 345 of them, although they weren’t all homes. There are challenges in any development, especially if it’s not a combination of a green- and brown field area. In this instance, it’s a brown field where people have settled. However, there are trees and other structures and activities that are in the way. We have engaged with City Parks to assist with cutting the trees down, and with Building Control to deal with the other buildings that are in the way.”
The delays to the project
Enos Maake from the Zandspruit Community Movement revealed that Zandspruit was supposed to be electrified in 2016, but the funds were reversed. “There was an allocation from Eskom in 2016, but it was taken back. We were told in 2017 that there was a rollover, but we don’t know how much it was.
“If the City has received an allocation, we need proof, because if we lost on the first budget, we don’t want to see that happen again,” he explained.
Matlhogonolo Mohali, the official responsible for the electricity planning, indicated that Eskom had followed up on the issues, but nothing was done. “The contractor was appointed and the material was bought, but still the project wasn’t ready. We engaged the CoJ, pleading with them to speed up the project so that the funding would not be withdrawn by the Department of Energy,” she said, “to no avail, and the funding was subsequently reversed.”
Eskom’s intervention in the project
Mohali added that electrifying Zandspruit would require additional energy sources. “It was estimated that there are almost 19 000 houses in Zandspruit, and for that many to be electrified, the power supply has to be increased – a substation is needed to take the full load.”
Mohali went on to explain that the CoJ has requested Eskom to focus on Extension 16, which has about 239 stands. Eskom has completed the planning and design phases of this part of the project, and has started with Phase 3, namely execution. “What I want to highlight is that although Zandspruit falls under the Eskom electricity supply, the electrification process needs funding, which comes from the national Department of Energy. We have sent the necessary information to the Department, and as soon as the funds are allocated for the rest of the project, we will be able to execute Phase 1,” she said.
Resolution to the project
Mashaba concluded the meeting by requesting written proof of all the commitments from the stakeholders. This will be presented to council and subsequently to the public as an emergency report, so that those involved can be held accountable for failing in their duties.
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