The Amazwi Villager

Written By Linky Matsie

It was a very windy, cold day. Every person walking on the street was wearing warm clothes. Half of the people of Morekeng community in Acornhoek were gathered at the soccer ground. Irene Maatjie, a ward councilor, and Chikane, an Eskom employee, were present. The meeting started with a prayer by one of the residents.

The councilor greeted everyone and explained why they were there. She said that many houses in Morekeng have no electricity and have been using solar power for years. “You have been living in the dark for years now, but from 19 August 2008, many houses will have lights,” Maatjie said. All the people clapped their hands. She continued that the solar panels would have to be returned as they were on loan from the municipality. “We must take them back, so that we can lend them to other people who need them,” she said.

The Morekeng community has remained undeveloped while other communities were supplied with electricity. It has been on a waiting list to get electricity for years. Eskom is worried that thieves will steal the cables used to install electricity. Chikane is asking the community to work together with Eskom by looking after the supplies. He said that the cables will be installed under the ground, so every house that needs lights must dig the line where Eskom will work.

Many people think it is a good idea that the cables will be underground and have agreed to dig the hole with pleasure. Elphas Tsebogo, a resident of Morekeng and a “civic” (community leader), praises the fact that the cables will be underground. “It is going to reduce the problem that we have been facing as leaders. Boys have been cutting the cables around Brooklyn and its nearby communities,” he said.

Aron Mohlolo, a resident of Morekeng, expresses how excited he is. “We have been living in the dark for years, and I thought we were never going to have electricity,” he exclaimed. He said that life is difficult without electricity. “Before I came to Morekeng, I was living with my parents in Boelang, where electricity was supplied a long time ago, but I had to build my own house in Morekeng,” Mohlolo said.

Mohlolo is not the only person who is happy about getting electricity. Lesedi Dilebo, a mother of three working on a farm in Hoedspruit, said that her life will be easier when they have electricity. “I struggled everyday when I woke up because it was dark outside, and I didn’t have a choice but to go out and make a fire,” explained Dilebo. She added that when it was raining, it was very hard because the firewood was wet and she didn’t have anything to use to cook.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the community of Morekeng walked back to their houses with happy faces. One woman shouted at her neigbour telling her the good news that they had received. “Where were you? We are going to be supplied with electricity, and we won’t have to go to fetch firewood anymore!”