About fifty villagers from Nomlengana and Dangershoek villages in the Joe Gqabi district will get solar panels from the Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Mlibo Qoboshiyane tomorrow morning as part of providing clean and safe energy to rural villagers who don’t have electricity.
MEC Qoboshiyane will hand over solar panels and the material to construct 24 bio-digester gas units to poor households as part of his department’s rural development programme benefiting rural villagers in the areas near the South Africa and Lesotho border.
In partnership with the university of Fort Hare, the department has invested R3 million for the purchase of the home lighting solar system, with a 7Ah DC battery bank with cellphone charging USB port for about 200 households in both Nomlengana and Dangershoek villages.
Currently, Nomlengana and Dangershoek villagers use firewood and paraffin to cook their meals, candles and paraffin fueled lamps for lights in their largely mud structure homes.
In response to local household’s electricity needs and the fact that Eskom has no plans to electrify these communities anytime soon, the Department installed solar panels and is starting to work on the construction of 24 bio digester, which will produce clean and safe gas to be used for cooking and household energy by Nomlengana and Dangershoek villagers.
Solar panel handover event details:
Date: 5 Oct 2016
Venue: Nomlengana sports field
Time: 10h30
Members of the media are invited to attend the solar panel handover.
For more information, please contact:
MEC’s Spokesperson
Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha
Cell: 082 955 8833
