Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality member of the mayoral committee for electricity and energy, Councillor Luxolo Namette recently joined department officials to remove illegal electricity connections at Missionvale’s Rholihlahla informal settlement.
The removal of illegal electricity connections at informal settlements forms part of the accelerated electrification of shacks project that was launched by Namette.
Namette formally switched on power to 1 000 shacks in Westville informal settlement near KwaDwesi, while a further 850 shacks were electrified in Rholihlahla.
Namette said that the project would be rolled out in phases with the first phase being the identification of need and electrification.
“The second phase is an awareness drive about dangers of illegal connections and removal of illegal connections.
“This phase is important because it talks to the sustainability of the work that we do.
“We need to make sure that our people get safe electricity that they can account for,” said Namette.
He said through this programme the metro targets to remove 31 920 illegal electricity connections across the city.
“We need to inculcate a new culture in Nelson Mandela Bay, where people partner with the municipality to bring about positive and sustainable change to their lives.
“The fact of the matter is that, we cannot do it alone.”
One of the beneficiaries of the electrification, Nokuzola Sundu, expressed her gratitude.
“It is making my life easy as a mother because I am living with my husband and three kids.
“Most of the time we use electricity to do the house chores, school work and for safety reasons at night.
“So far we have not experienced any problems with our electricity,” said Sundu.
This project will continue to other areas including Wells Estate, Westville, Walmer township and parts of Uitenhage.
