Illegal connections strike informal settlement

This after 3-year-old Banele Gumude was recently killed by a live wire that had been illegally connected to a shack in the Zamani informal settlement. 

Local councillor Lihle Khuzwayo says some of the residents have been rerouting electricity from the area's street lights to their homes while others stole power from railway line cables.

Khuzwayo says some of the more than 1 000 homes there have already been connected to the city's electricity's grid.

"Electrification is underway. By next week all home in the area will have electricity. People should stop connecting illegally because voltage from the sources is too high and is dangerous", he said.

"We are sorry that a life had to be lost this way".

(Photo: Gallo images)