The eThekwini Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee held its first meeting of 2018 this week and high on its agenda for the year is electrification, water infrastructure and sanitation.

The Committee approved the roll-out of an electrification plan as well the construction of an inlet water main pipe in Umlazi.

The committee also approved plans for a Water and Sanitation Unit student conference in the city aimed at educating the youth and raising awareness on a range of water and sanitation topics.

Electrifiction Roll out

According to the municipality the electrification plan will roll out electricity to houses already built but are without electricity. These will include RDP houses, disaster relief houses, R293 houses and four-roomed houses which were refurbished by the City.

“Homes that are not provided with electricity increase a risk of illegal connections. This poses a health and safety risk to the community,” the municipality said.  The City will be spending about R4.2million to electricity about 14 000 subsidized homes within various projects in the municipality.

Water main in uMlazi

The municipality noted that an inlet water main pipe will be constructed in uMlazi Ward 84, 85 and 86 to replace the existing pipeline which has deteriorated due to age.

“The uMlazi 4 and 5 reservoir zones supply approximately 9830 houses with water. The current situation is that there are frequent pipe bursts and residents are inconvenienced by the repeated disruption to the water supply,” the municipality said.

“Replacing the water main will reduce water loss thus providing residents with a reliable supply. It will also reduce water interruptions to residents in the area,” it concluded.