The City of Cape Town is pleased to announce that repair work to damaged infrastructure from a fire in Europe informal settlement in Gugulethu has commenced.
”Work to reconnect 17 households to the grid has started and is foreseen to be completed in about a week’s time. We’re pleased with the support and cooperation of the community as we move to improve the living conditions of the fire-affected households. These households in Europe informal settlement form part of a larger reconnection drive of households across the metro that were cut off from electricity supply due to fire. City teams will do their best to complete work as soon as possible over the coming weeks and months and we remain committed to our most vulnerable residents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen today, 17 February 2022, during a site inspection of work commencing.
The reinstatement of the electricity connections following the fire was impacted by a shortage of cables. Work will now continue unabated.
After the fire, the City assisted with debris removal and site clearance as well as enabling soft relief.
‘In City-supplied areas, almost 100% of settlements are electrified. However, since the Covid-19 lockdown, we’ve experienced a spike in unlawful occupations and associated illegal connections that have led to an unstable power supply in some areas. In addition, settlements without the bulk infrastructure required to provide services, encroachments on servitudes that make service delivery challenging, and the tough economic conditions often leading to a switch from electric to other fuel sources, residents in informal settlements are especially vulnerable to fires. We urge community leaders, organisations and residents to help us prevent the occurrence of fires, which can mostly be prevented if flames are not left unattended. The City will continue its awareness drives and other interventions to reduce the instances of fires in informal settlements,’ said Councillor Van Reenen.