A long-awaited multi-million rand electrification project for Zandspruit informal settlement finally set to begin in March.
The commencement of the project was recently made public by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and Human Settlements, Dikgang Uhuru Moiloa, when he reported back to residents recently.
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In his report, Moiloa said that the national power utility, Eskom, had reported to the provincial government and the City of Johannesburg that the Department of Energy had allocated over R8 million to electrify Zandspruit.
“The power utility has also advised that it has already conducted a Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME) support workshop which will allow local business to be part of this project,” Moiloa said in his report, after thanking the utilities involved for delivering the desperately needed service to the people.
According to Moiloa, the project is also expected to benefit the youth of Zandspruit. “Residents of Zandspruit will also see young people being trained and equipped with skills to work on the mass electrification project that is expected to be completed in the next three years,” he said.
He said the first phase of electrifying the area will take about three months, provided there are no hiccups and the community allows Eskom officials to successfully electrify the informal settlement without any stoppages.
In addition, he said that the electrification programme is a temporary solution as the government has a plan to develop the human settlements in Zandspruit.
“We have also been in talks with private landowners who have shown an interest to make land available for the development of human settlements in this area.
“On my next visit here, I am going to invite the City of Johannesburg, the national Department of Human Settlements and private landowners who own portions of land in this area to plan for housing development in this area,” Moiloa promised.
As incidents of land invasion continue, the MEC gave a stern warning to those who continue to attempt to illegally occupy land even after government efforts to develop human settlements in Zandspruit.
“We will not be kind to individuals who do not abide by the South African rule of law and by-laws in our beautiful province. We will unleash the full might of the law on them,” Moiloa warned.
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