Residents in informal settlements in Ward 15 have threatened not to cast their votes for the upcoming local election until service delivery is brought to their doorsteps.

They say that, as they are also human beings, they deserve electricity, water, sanitation, roads, and other key infrastructure.

The group, together with other stakeholders, handed over a memorandum of demand to the Deputy Mayor of the Tshwane metro, Eugene Modise and Frans Boshibelo, the MEC for Utility Services at Heatherly Substation on June 5.

Ward 15 Councillor Joel Masilela, who read the memorandum on behalf of Ward 15 residents, said, “We submit the memorandum to formally request the temporary installation of electricity supply in all Ward 15 informal settlements.”

Masilela said that the purpose of this request is to alleviate the current burden placed on the permanent residence, which is currently supplying power to additional structures and users.

“This arrangement is unsustainable and has resulted in frequent overloads, high costs, and safety concerns,” said Masilela.

He said a temporary connection will allow them to manage power usage more effectively. In contrast, arrangements for the permanent connection are made, and also to assist the city with revenue loss mitigation.

The residents are ready to comply with all Tshwane metro regulations, safety standards, and payment requirements applicable to a temporary supply.

Masilela added, “[We are] requesting an urgent consideration of this matter, as the situation is affecting the daily functioning and safety of the residents.”

Thulani Ndlovu, a Regional, a South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) committee member, said: “We want service delivery, and no one will cast a vote until our demands are met. We want service delivery now and not after the election.”

“We are human beings, and we want to leave like other people in the country and all the squatter camp residents we are representing today are prepared to pay for service delivery every month, including those who depend on social grant money,” said Ndlovu.

“Enough is enough, we want service delivery in Ward 15. We are handing a memorandum because for a very long time we have been neglected, and it is time to deliver services,” said Ndlovu.

He said the memorandum represents all the informal settlements in Ward 15.

“We have engaged with our local councillor numerous times, unfortunately, [he] could not meet our demands, due to the previous administrations,” he added.

He further said, “The MMC for Utility services must understand that we are people and we deserve to live better lives and better services.

“If you want our votes, you must deliver services first, before we vote.”

MMC for Finance and deputy mayor of Tshwane Eugene Modise, who received the memorandum, started by thanking the community of Ward 15 for the good gesture, thanking them for demonstrating their sense of responsibility.

“The residents came out and said they want to pay [for] the electricity, and then we have a program called ‘Electricity For All’, which is going to accommodate them,” said Modise.

“So we are giving electricity to all people, irrespective of the category where they stay, meaning [both] formal settlements and informal settlements.”

“We are going to conduct assessments from Monday. You have to quantify the need and the capacity of the transformer that will be installed. And in that process, we will be measuring the cables that will be needed.

“Then we are going to do the final assessment of risk because we don’t want to install electricity and kill our people. We are going to make sure that it is safe and sustainable for all.”

He added, “Water is a social imperative, and we cannot compromise that it is a human right, and we will install tanks, ensure that we fill them each and every day with quality clean water, because we have developed a program of ensuring that we assess, test, and inspect all the water tankers.”

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