“I was inspired by loadshedding”
Emalahleni citizens are currently faced with tough times with load shedding striking almost every day.
But thanks to Kenneth Phenga who created a mini power generator that uses gas and batteries as a form of power, all those problems might soon fade away.
This creation does not only act as a generator but it also happens to be a heater, a two-in-one design running on 12 Volts with the aim of converting it from a Direct Current to an Alternating Current.
The 31-year old is a technician by profession who holds a Mechanical Engineering qualification from the then Cape Technikon. The project started in February with the help of his welder friend Smangaliso Nyathi which saw them working on weekends due to their tight working schedule during weekdays. These gentlemen in the past few months have been able to see the labour of their hard work bear beautiful fruits.
Phenga says he had been thinking of this project from as early as 2007. “The reason why I created this was because of the electricity problems that I saw the area was facing when I moved to eMalaheni in 2013. I thought it would be ideal to create something that will help people’s lives to be much better and also create something that would be able to cut costs but yet be effective,” said Phenga.
He also added that the other main motive for his creation was because he wanted to be part of a group of people in the country that uses their skills to curb youth unemployment, as this project will aim to see that the youth gets involved due to the high number of people with skills needed in the venture.
Phenga began inventing when he was still a High School learner at Eqinisweni Secondary School at Ivory Park in Johannesburg. In 2001 when he was a Grade ten pupil he competed with matric students where he created a toy car that used remote wires. In 2002 his group named Kenneth Sello Themba (KST) appeared on SABC News when they created a drain moving on wires. On his inventions list he also has a robot that he created years back.
This two-in-one creation is a one of a kind invention that has never been seen before on the market and will serve as a stiff competition for the petrol generator. “My dream is to see my invention be on the shelves like the petrol generator,” concluded Phenga.
