Poles go up, but still no power at settlement

Durban - Before the December holidays it appeared that residents of Shiyabazali Informal Settlement in Isipingo, south of Durban, would have been connected legally to electricity.

However, after erecting the poles, work to electrify the homesteads stopped and has not resumed.

And today, 4-year-old Fikile Lusanda Dlamini will be laid to rest in eMkhomazi. She died after stepping on an illegal connection while on her way to a shop at the informal settlement this week.

Her mother, Bongiwe Dlamini, spoke to the Daily News yesterday as a local funeral home arrived with her daughter’s body.

“We thought maybe the workers who put in the electricity poles would return after the Christmas holiday, but they haven’t and we think they won’t because everyone is back at work now,” she said.

Michael Msineleni, 32, was electrocuted when he slipped and grabbed an illegal connection at Siyathuthuka Informal Settlement, near Sea Cow Lake, north-west of Durban, in February last year.

In April, Samkelo Zamiso, 9, died after stepping on an illegally connected wire at St Wendolins, near Pinetown.

In June, Khanyisani Dlamini, 4, died after falling on an exposed illegal connection while playing with his friends at Ekuphumeleleni Informal Settlement in Shallcross.

eThekwini Municipality was unable to answer questions relating to the number of informal settlements that have been electrified since 2017.

Daily News