Nomangesi Mbiza
18 November 2008
After years of relying on paraffin stoves and candles for light, residents of Kosovo in Philippi are celebrating their new electricity connections, especially ahead of Cape Town's notorious fire season.
The electrification of the area also marks the end of illegal connections from neighbouring communities, which were rife in the area.
Excited resident Nomazola Chivitte said the electrification had come at a "perfect" time.
"This is a time when there are a lot of fires in this area, caused by paraffin stoves and candles that blow over.
"They spread fast in the windy season."
Chivitte, who has lived in Kosovo for the past eight years, admitted that her previous supply was illegal.
"We used thin cables which were not safe, but now we have our own electricity boxes," she said.
They were also forced to pay heavily for the use of the illegal supply, and "sometimes they just switched it off without notifying us and we would stay in the dark".
Another resident, Buyisile Dlakile, said she had previously not looked forward to either summer or winter because the winters were extremely cold and the summer brought fires.
The city's Bonginkosi Madikizela said the electrification plan was complicated, and not simply a case of areas that had been there longest being pushed to the top of the list.
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