Bright lights for ‘Dark City’

POPULARLY referred to as ‘Dark City’ after almost two years without electricity, residents of Dumisani Makhaya Village are hoping to see light at the end of their very dark tunnel.

Municipal officials, councillors and residents gathered on Friday for the first on-site electrification visit with the newly appointed contractor, Kevin Padayachee of Solethu Energy, hoping to ‘shed light’ on the grievances of the community.

Previously known as uMhlathuze Village, Dumisani Makhaya has been christened many names such as, ‘Veg City’ and ‘Canned Food City’ as residents have had no access to electricity and, as a result, are left to eat canned foods and raw vegetables.

According to City Electrical Manager Customer Services Bheka Kanyile, 559 houses are expected to be electrified.

‘A contractor has been appointed, induction will commence on Monday (today) and a project plan will be issued by Tuesday,’ said Kanyile.

‘Low cost housing is funded by the Department of Energy and the Council. At the time the funding had been granted by the department, the building of the houses was not complete so the funding was subsequently retracted.

‘We have since re-applied and with the relevant funding, appointed the contractor in April,’ he said.

Meeting the awarded contact rules, Solethu Energy is expected to recruit local labour.

‘We will be bringing in essential skilled labour, however, the majority will be local labour hired. We are expecting to complete the project in two months time, but it would be a maximum of three months. We will also be having weekly meetings with the municipality and the relevant councillors to ensure smooth running of the project,’ said Padayachee.

‘This will be job creation for our people in the wards,’ said Ward 9 Councillor Irwin Palmer.

Municipal Chief Whip Councillor Manie Lourens said that not only is the municipality promising, but also delivering.

‘When we say we can, we do. It is another good story to tell,’ said Lourens.