On Friday 22 September 2017, I had the pleasure of sharing in the joy of the residents of the Uitkyk informal settlement in Sir Lowry’s Pass where we officially switched on electricity for 63 homes.
We have worked with Eskom to electrify the area where residents had been living without electricity for more than 21 years. Over the years, the City of Cape Town has installed standpipes, taps and toilets.
Uitkyk is situated on a 1:50-year flood line which had been a barrier to installing electricity as Eskom was not able to proceed with electrification planning because the flood area posed a safety risk.
In 2014, I said that we have to try all avenues to get electricity to this community and I requested that a Basic Environmental Assessment (BEA) be conducted to ensure that the City exhausted all options before concluding that electrification cannot go ahead.
The City paid Eskom R350 000 in November 2015 to proceed with the BEA and in 2016 the outcome of the assessment was that electrification may go ahead and Eskom was then able to start the electrification planning process.
We overcame the challenges and were able to start the project, and within one year we could bring this service to the community in line with the commitments of our Organisational Development and Transformation Plan to enhance the delivery of basic services to informal settlements and bring progress through partnerships.
The name of this community, Uitkyk, means that the residents have been looking forward to days like these when step by step we improve the living conditions in the community.
I thank Eskom for working with us on this project and others across Cape Town where we are bringing electricity to many communities.
As a result of this partnership, 63 families have a better living experience. This is the mission of our new term of office: to take service delivery to the next level and work closely with partners and communities to make progress.
‘Eskom Western Cape has consistently met its electrification target for the last five years and is continually intensifying its electrification drive. Electrification is indisputably one of the most effective ways to provide communities with improved quality of life as well as opportunities for infrastructure development and business prospects,’ said Eskom Provincial Head, Alwie Lester.
The project is funded by the Department of Energy and the total cost after electrification and infrastructure completion will be close to R1 million. The Uitkyk customers will be serviced directly by Eskom.