Townlands Electrification – Project Handover

It’s the dawning of a new chapter for 69 families in the villages of Townlands and Woolnager as a new ray of hope lightens their lives after they received electricity in their homes for the first time in their lives.
Yesterday, His Worship the Mayor Cllr TC Ngubane accompanied by Speaker, Cllr W Khoza as well as Cllr V.B. Njoko, Cllr T.L. Gwala, Cllr F Mayat and Cllr B.D. Madonsela visited 10 households that were beneficiaries of this electrification project before addressing the community at large at Townlands.
The project, which began in June this year, came to completion on 15 November and is one of the municipality’s best infrastructure projects and will alleviate the plight of more than 300 people as access to electricity is critical for growth, economic equality and social cohesion.
This project brought light to the people of Umvoti in more ways than one as it created employment opportunities for 40 people in both Townlands and Woolnager and, although the project is now complete, two of these employees have since been hired permanently by the contractor Sibgem.
Another flame was kept burning, after the Majola family received a temporary housing structure constructed through donations made by the municipality senior officials , leadership and the Consultants Sibgem as their previous mud house had collapsed in the face of recent storms in the province. The temporary housing structure has assisted them greatly whilst waiting for the commencement of the Nhlalakahle Housing Project which is still at its planning stage. The temporary housing structure was built by a local builder, Mr Bhekithemba Majola, who was appointed through the donated contributions. It is also a well known fact that projects such as these, improve the community in more ways than one, and this project is no exception, 50 per cent of the roads in Townlands have since been graveled and the fencing of the Townlands cemetery is expected to be complete by the end of this month.
In 2016, when the Mayor and the EXCO began their new term of office, they took it upon themselves to commit to ensuring that every single household in Umvoti is electrified within the next five years. 27 per cent of households within the Umvoti municipality are currently still without electricity, a significant number of these households are in rural areas but provision is being made to ensure that these homes see the light in the not so distant future.
“Umvoti; Together, we can”

Issued by Siqalokuhle Media on behalf of Umvoti Municipality