The Gauteng Government is working hard to sort out electricity issues in communities across the region. In good news, people in Kokosi, Westrand got their power back last Thursday after months without it.
This is a big step forward in the government’s Energy Crisis Response Programme, which aims to fix the energy crisis by doing things like replacing broken transformers, sorting out debts, and fixing the billing system.
Before turning the power back on, Premier Panyaza Lesufi spoke at a meeting and asked City Power for help fixing Kokosi’s infrastructure.
He said it’s important for everyone to have electricity, especially in places like Kokosi where things are falling apart.
“We can’t say we’re leading the province if people don’t have electricity. City Power has been working hard to fix things here. We’re doing this for everyone to make sure every house has power,” said Premier Lesufi.
To help during load shedding, the government is putting up solar mast lights so people can still have electricity.
Premier Lesufi also promised to help with water problems in the community, working with Rand Water and local councils to sort things out quickly.
Apart from fixing electricity problems, the government is also putting in measures to help during load shedding, like installing solar mast lights and making sure people still have electricity.
Residents like Thandi Dlamini are thankful to the government for fixing the transformers quickly. Dlamini talked about how hard it was during the months without electricity, especially during December when people lost a lot of money on food that went bad.
“We had no electricity the whole of December. It was tough because people had saved money all year to buy food for the festive season,” said the 69-year-old.
The government is also helping other areas, like Sedibeng, where they switched on transformers after four years without power.
Premier Lesufi and City Power workers went door-to-door in places like Orange Farm, Palm Springs, Sebokeng, and Finetown to switch on 11 transformers.
Last week, the premier went to Ivory Park and switched on two transformers, bringing relief to people who hadn’t had electricity for a long time.
People in Ivory Park were overjoyed when their lights came back on, especially Ntombifikile Ntombela, whose diabetic mother needed electricity for her insulin.
“Life has been tough without electricity. My mother had to stay with relatives because she needed electricity for her insulin. I’m sure she’ll be happy to come back home.”
Getting power back in these communities shows the government’s commitment to making life better for everyone in Gauteng, even when there are big challenges.
