The police had to intervene on Thursday after Lethabo Park residents clashed over the electrification of the area after it was learned that 634 of the planned 1,800 households will not receive electricity.
THE POLICE had to intervene on Thursday after Lethabo Park residents clashed over the electrification of the area after it was learned that 634 of the planned 1,800 households will not receive electricity.
Unit 6 residents threatened to stop the project, which is already under way, while residents from Units 1-5 vowed to protect their interests.
The police facilitated the reading of a letter from Sol Plaatje Municipality to the residents, urging them to be patient and not to block the project as it will result in the funds being forfeited and block future allocations from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DME).
The municipality applied for funding for Lethabo Park for the full spectrum of 1,800 households for the 2021/22 financial year.
Only an allocation of 1,166 households was approved, to be completed in September 2022.
The residents were further notified that additional funding was applied for at the DME for the electrification of the remaining households for the 2023/24 financial year.
The funding will apparently be announced by the Minister of Finance and gazetted by March 2023.
A municipal official, Mdu Zwane, explained that the matter was beyond their control, but that they did apply for the full spectrum of the project.
He also clarified that R20 million was applied for to electrify the remaining 634 households.
“To make sure that there are no delays once we have received the funds, we have started with the procurement processes to have the service providers available. The designs, plus the specs are ready to ensure that we don’t delay.
“Those funds are determined and split by the funder, it’s not the municipality. So by stopping the project that is already under way we will lose those funds and funds for areas within Sol Plaatje, and we will have to wait for approximately a period of seven years before we can receive the next funds,” said Zwane.
The residents were further informed that the municipality has already started the procurement process for the next phase of the electrification project by initiating a tender.
Unit 6 residents are thus the ones expected to wait for the next round, until their funds are gazetted in the next financial year.
On Thursday they demanded that the entire project be halted and that the whole area should wait until enough funds are available for all the beneficiaries.
The disgruntled residents of Unit 6 felt that the “newcomers” in Units 1-5 stand to be the first to get electricity, while some residents who have been staying in the dark since 2018 have to take a back seat.
They accused certain officials of nepotism and of ensuring that their comrades and family members were squeezed into the ghost shacks and empty plots in order for them to get first preference.
The Units 1-5 residents hit back, pointing out that the other residents had refused to move from their current location when they were told to move due to constant sewage flooding.
Valerie Mabina, from Unit 6, burst into tears during the meeting and said it was unfair that she has to wait for another round while she was among the first residents to move into the area.
She said that she was exhausted from all her attempts to get electricity while living in a small shack with an oxygen-dependent family member.
“My brother depends on oxygen and we keep gas bottles inside the shack to keep him calm. He was diagnosed with heart and respiratory conditions,” she said.
“Social workers tried to intervene after he was admitted to the hospital for a long time. It was realised that we live under unbearable conditions, with constant sewage flooding. The social workers said he needed clean air for oxygen. I was moved from my previous yard because of the sewage flooding.
“I was given a letter to motivate for me to get an electric pole, but then I learnt that we will be getting electricity soon.
“Now I really don’t know what to do because keeping those gas cylinders inside the shack is very risky. If those cylinders get exposed to too much heat they will explode, and affect the whole block of shacks,” said Mabina.
