City of Joburg makes Zandspruit electrification, development promise official
7 November 2018
The City of Johannesburg has resolved to fast-track the electrification and development of Zandspruit.
This is according to Mayor Herman Mashaba who said there would be no further delays in delivering essential services to the area.
Mashaba said the decision was taken following a council meeting which was held on October 31.
"On the issue of electricity, the previous administration failed to submit the necessary applications for the electrification of the township, and as a result national government's budget for electrifying the area was rolled over for a number of years," he said.
On Tuesday Mashaba visited Zandspruit again following a visit in October and met with community leaders to give them an update on matters that they had raised following protests in the area.
He said among other resolutions from the council meeting was that the implementation plan for Zandspruit's housing development as planned by the City's department of housing be noted; and that the "original Zandspruit occupants be the beneficiaries".
The City also resolved that a Johannesburg Metro Police Department satellite station be established to ensure and strengthen the safety of residents and improve police visibility around Zandspruit.
In October News24 reported that Eskom and the City of Johannesburg had reached an agreement to rid the Zandspruit informal settlement of illegal electrical connections.
This is after the area was rocked by protests that flared up when two children were reportedly electrocuted.
Nico de Jager, mayoral committee member for environment and infrastructure services told News24 at the time that about 19 000 people in Zandspruit were affected by illegal connections, and that about half of the area was not electrified.
