The South African government celebrates the 15th anniversary of local government this year with a proud evidence of the delivery of basic services to the historically marginalised millions of South Africans. South Africans who before 1994 regarded electricity as one of the resources reserved for the privileged and blessed few white people access electricity now, the Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, Mr Des van Rooyen, told Members of the National Assembly (NA) in Parliament yesterday.
He said the share of households accessing electricity increased from 69.7% in 2001 to 86% in 2014. According to him, 5.8 million households have received electricity, with more than two million indigent households benefiting from the provision of electricity through indigent support systems. Mr Van Rooyen emphasised that the majority of the families that access electricity are the historically excluded people living in rural and in informal communities.
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