President of South Africa Jacob Zuma has said that additional municipalities will continue benefiting from electrification programmes set out by his government, although he revealed that 3.4 million households still do not have access to electricity.
Among the beneficiaries will include the Amathole Municipality in the Eastern Cape, which is set to get US$11.88m to see 7936 households getting access to electricity. Umzinyathi Municipality in Kwazulu Natal will get US $10.12m for 6930 households.
2365 households in Umzinyathi have already received electricity connection and US $17.93m had been added to the 2015 to 2016 financial year allocation for undertaking further electrification and bulk infrastructure projects.
Alfred Nzo Municipality received US$16.41m for 4688 households with 2399 houses already having gotten access to electricity after the transfer of US $12.70m.
All infrastructure projects in Lukhanji Municipality in the Eastern Cape had been completed after an allocation of US $0.58m but projects will now be pursued since the region has been awarded R4.5-million for the same purpose this financial year.
OR Tambo Municipality will spend US $25.74m in connecting 12192 houses, with 2365 houses now already having electricity in this particular municipality.
The president noted that those homes which had not received any allocation with regard to electrification would get solar home systems.
For the financial year 2015/ 2016, a US $30.70m was set aside for South African electrification proramme. The country has been struggling from load shedding, and a number of programs, including those in solar power and wind power initiated recently to stop the problem.
