THERE were smiles on the faces of residents of Mokopane’s extensions 14, 19 and 20 when the Mogalakwena mayor, William Mabuela, officially switched on the electricity supply recently.
During this ceremony where electricity supply was switched on, Mabuela said it would be a relief to residents, but a loss to business owners as paraffin, gas and candle sales would drop.
With the funding provided from the department of energy, the municipality electrified 873 households, in an electrification project that cost R8,8 million.
The project started during the 2012/13 financial year, and Kgabo Construction was contracted, but due to heavy rainfall last year, the project took longer than expected.
Mabuela said to date, the municipality had electrified 179 villages and only some new village extensions still needed an electricity supply.
“It is our responsibility as the leadership and management of this municipality to provide services to our community, and with this team, we have leaders and managers who are willing to serve their communities. We will strive to maintain this while we continue in ensuring Mogalakwena is a place for prosperity,” he said.
Many of the residents who attended the event could not hide their excitement.
“We finally have electricity and are extremely happy that from today we will not be using firewood to cook or boil water, and that we will be able to do other things that requires electricity,” said one of the residents, Sarah Muhlola.
Another resident, John Mkhari said he found it impressive that they had received access to many basic services in such a short space of time.
“As you can see, there is also a tarred road,” Mkhari said.
