The community of eMpangisweni in the Abaqulusi Local Municipality ward 4, now has electricity for the very first time, this is thanks to the intervention of the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka, whose department quickly responded to the plight of the 101 households, who had never had electricity before.
On Friday, 15 July, MEC Hlomuka paid a special visit to this community. He officially switched on the Cogta-funded electrification project which brings the modern-day convenience of electricity to households.
Speaking during the switch-on, MEC Hlomuka hailed the community for their cooperation during the roll-out of the project, “when we visited this community in January, to officially introduce the contractors that we had appointed to this project, we made a plea to the community that there be no disruptions in the implementation of the project, which would have compromised the timelines which we had set. Our visit here today, would not have been possible, had the community not played its part in ensuring that the contractors can get on with their work with no disruptions” said Hlomuka.
One of the beneficiaries of this project, Thabisile Zondo (62), who lives with her husband, daughter and four grandchildren, hailed the project as a life changer for her village, as they will now be able to store groceries that require cold storage and be able to charge their phones which will allow them to be more accessible to their friends and employers.
“As a community we are grateful, we will no longer have to fetch firewood in order to cook. I can safely say that our lives will drastically improve because we now have electricity. The life of burning candles is now in the past and our grandchildren will now be able to do their homework without worrying about lighting” said Zondo.
During the visit, MEC Hlomuka was accompanied by Inkosi Zondo, of the eMpangisweni Traditional Council, who also commended the department for responding with speed to the plight of the community.
“Access to electricity is a reality today for our community, to many of us it is like a dream come true. We are thankful to the department of Cogta for implementing this project” said Zondo.
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