Patients and staff at Khayelitsha Community Health Centre in Cape Town are at risk from electricity cables running to shacks nearby.

Shack dwellers staying in nearby Lindelani Park have been connecting illegally to a pole located on the premises of the health facility.

Abulele Dyasi, spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Health, said the illegal connections were always flagged in assessments of occupational health and safety at the centre.

"The electricity cables cut across the clinic, creating a huge risk," she said.

According Fezeka Dyabhaza, Lindelani Park community leader, the settlement was established in 2003.

She said the shack dwellers connect illegally "because they want to light their shacks, cook, and store food in their fridges".

"They want their kids to study in lit shacks. Candles and paraffin are too dangerous to use for lighting and cooking."

"If we get electricity, there will be no illegal connections hanging over the health centre," she said.

Bonga Zamisa, spokesperson for the Social Justice Coalition, said, "This situation is a direct result of state failure - had the government prioritised and fast-tracked electricity installations in these areas, there would be no need for what's often labelled as 'illegal connections'."

"It's crucial to understand these connections as a last resort for people living without essential infrastructure," he said.

Zanele Bukani, Eskom spokesperson, said approval for electrification had to be granted by the City of Cape Town.

Councillor Carl Pophaim, the Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, told GroundUp the application to Eskom had been delayed by the proposed relocation of the residents. "Official permission is in progress," he said.

"We will complete the form and forward it to Eskom in due course."