The City of Cape Town has announced that electricity has been switched on for the 46 families, who were recently relocated from Eskom’s National Transmission Company (NTCSA) Tower 37 site in Langa as part of efforts to improve living conditions.
In a statement on Sunday, the city said this milestone switch-on brings safe and reliable electricity to households in this emergency relocation site.
The switch-on follows an operation undertaken by the city recently for residents who had
settled under the NTCSA pylon, which then became severely unstable due to damage and vandalism. The Tower 37 residents were relocated due to the serious risk. After the Tower 37 site was successfully cleared and the affected residents were relocated to a safer site in the same area, NTCSA formally took over the Tower 37 site, specifically the land servitude, to complete the repairs and maintenance to its electricity pylon infrastructure.The Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg, said in partnership with NTCSA, the South African Police Service, city contractors, and multiple city directorates – including Human Settlements, Electricity, Safety and Security and Water and Sanitation - the city safely relocated the affected families to a nearby city-owned site.
“Now that the homes have electricity, the families can settle in their environment with dignity. We thank the Langa community for their cooperation and understanding during this life-saving operation and the subsequent electrification process. This switch-on marks the beginning of a new chapter for the families, one where safety and access to essential services are assured, including an allocation of up to 60 units of free basic electricity (FBE) on the city’s subsidised lifeline tariff,” Limberg said.
The Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Carl Pophaim, said they were grateful that the city’s energy teams acted with such urgency and dedication to provide electricity to the relocated families so soon after the emergency relocation.
“This electricity switch-on is more than just a city service – it brings hope, safety, and stability for the community. In the weeks before the emergency relocation, our Informal Settlement Engineering Services and Informal Settlement Management (ISM) teams worked tirelessly, often in challenging conditions, to transform the vacant city-owned land into a place the families can call home. They prepared the site, laid foundations, built sturdy homes, and installed the basic services needed to restore dignity and normalcy to residents’ lives.
“It is important to note that the site, cleared by our ISM teams was handed over to Eskom NTCSA, and the responsibility for securing it lies with them. We thank residents for their support and cooperation, and all involved in this humanitarian move,” Pophaim said.
The city said the Municipal Finance Management Act determines that public money cannot be used for the enhancing of private property and the city can only assist backyarders and informal settlement dwellers residing on city-owned property and where site conditions allow for this.
The city said it continues to seek ways to invest greater resources in driving electrification projects for backyarders and residents in informal settlements, where feasible, and also with Eskom, where applicable. – SAnews.gov.za
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