King LC Mota
King T Mopeli
The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Mahlangu
The Premier of the Free State province, Mr Ace Magashule
Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, MP
MEC for Social Development, Ms SH Ntombela
Executive Mayors of Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, Councilor, Mopeli and Mr Thabo Mofutsanyana
District Municipality, Councillor, Dr Mzangwa, and Phumelela Local Municipality, Councilor, Mr TJ Motaung
Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders, Morena, Advocate MF Mopeli
CEO of Engen Oil, Mr Nizam Salleh
Acting CEO of Maluti-a-Phofung Water
Managing Director of Sasol Oil, Mr Allen Cameron
Let me also acknowledge officials from Sasol, Engen Oil, Total SA, PetroSA, Shell; District and local Municipalities, my department and other government departments and all fellow South Africans.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to make a commitment, as the African National Congress Government, to the people of Puthaditjhaba, in particular, the residents of Makwane village that the construction for the Maluti-a-Phofung (MAP) Integrated Energy Centre (IeC) will commence in a few weeks. The Maluti-a-Phofung IeC was initiated in 2008 (by the Department of Energy together with Sasol and the local and district municipalities) and its implementation was delayed due to land issues and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study. We have come here to tell you that all the necessary approval processes have been finalised and that the construction work should be finished within 4 months from the starting date, and we will come back to officially launch the project before the end of the year.
The department’s partnership with the oil companies in respect of the IeC Programme has delivered a total of seven IeCs located in the rural hinterland of South Africa. They are the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and North West provinces. In all instances the Cooperative model has been used as the form of ownership and operation.
During the Centenary Celebration in Mangaung on Sunday, 8 January 2012, the President of the ANC, Dr. Jacob Zuma said, that some of the visions of the two years of freedom is deepening our democracy, the culture of human rights and people’s participation in changing their lives for the better, meeting basic needs and developing human resources and building the economy and creating jobs. As members of the ruling party, we are “working for the people”.
As elected MP, we should bear in mind that “Parliament is the central institution of democracy that embodies the will of the people in government, and that carries their expectations that democracy will be truly responsive to their needs. It carries a promise to the people that it will help solve the most pressing problems that confront them in their daily lives. In order to give the people space to engage with us as their leaders directly, from time to time we must make ourselves available to the people who generally do not have the resources to do so.
Energy overview of the area
There is a market for energy products in the QwaQwa area. The Households in the area use paraffin, candles, coal, wood and animal dung, electricity and to a less extent LPG and solar for their energy needs, such as lighting, cooking and space-heating. All of these energy carriers are available in the township; however, local traders increase the price when they deliver these services to our people in the villages. There has been a significant increase in the supply and roll out of electricity infrastructure to the community of MAP Municipality. Wood, coal and animal dung are also on the decrease in usage for cooking purposes. This clearly indicates that overall there has been significant changes in the material conditions of community of MAP municipality.
What is an integrated energy centre (IeC)?
An Integrated Energy Centre (IeC) is a one-stop energy shop owned and operated by the community Cooperative and organised as a community project. It provides energy solutions to communities, access to affordable
safe & sustainable energy services, information and awareness on how to handle and utilise energy sources including Paraffin and LPGas. In addition the IeC’s promote the development of SMME’s through partnerships with key stakeholders, such as the National Development Agency (NDA) and the Department of Trade and Industry.
With the creation of this IeC the Department of Energy envisages its contribution to poverty alleviation in the area to include the following outcomes:
- communities in QwaQwa will be empowered to utilise energy in a safe and sustainable manner;
- there will be a measurable contribution to the achievement of universal access to modern energy for all South Africans
- local communities will enjoy easy and affordable access to energy services (because unnecessary distribution costs will not be added), allowing communities some left over disposable income to spend on other household commodities;
- awareness campaigns regarding energy use will decrease the number of accidents brought about by improper use of fuels (gas fires and paraffin ingestion);
- a measurable improvement of lifestyle for the communities within which the IeC is located, not only in their use of energy, but also in their health and safety;
- better energy planning by national and local government, and by all energy users in the communities that the IeCs serve; and
- a measurable development of sustainable small and medium enterprises, as well as the local economies of the area within which the Maluti-a-Phofung (QwaQwa) IeC is located.
How will the MAP IeC benefit the community?
I have been informed that the Maluti a Phofung municipality, through Ward Councilors, nominated 34 (thirty four) community. The MAP IeC Cooperative is located in Ward 53 and will provide services to people from Ward 2, 30, 32, 34 and 41, including passers-by. The MAP IeC Cooperative comprises of 14 members, 7 males and 7 females, of which 43% is made up of young people. The community members were trained on the Cooperative Act and Business Management by SEDA. Before and during training, members were assessed on their skills levels, using the SEDA assessment tool. During the training a need for franchise training was identified, hence Franchise training was offered by SEDA. All training took place at the offices of the Free State Development Cooperation in QwaQwa. The cooperative is registered with CIPRO as a working co operative of 14 (fourteen members). Furthermore, some members of the cooperative went on a site visit to the Mutale IeC in Limpopo to learn how to manage projects of this nature.
Job creation opportunities
During construction period, the IeC will provide short-term employment to at least 60 local people and 8 to 10 permanent staff members when operational. The department will mobilise other stakeholders to establish small businesses to support the IeC once completed. This would create additional employment opportunities for the local people
Status of Electrification in the province
From 1994 till September 2011 just about 350 000 connections were made in the Free State. The backlog in the Free State is about 200 000, with 70 000 informal and 130 000 formal households not electrified. This provincial backlog makes out 6% of the National backlog of the country. The Provincial backlog is 13%; hence 87% of households have access to electricity.
The estimated backlogs in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality are 61, 313 households.
The department’s focus was on municipalities such as Maluti-a-Phofung the last few years in order to decrease the large backlogs. In 2009/10 about 2 670 connections were made at a cost of R15,5 million, while in 2010/11 1 400 connections were made at a cost of R10 million. Also 75 connections were made in Phumelela at a cost of R270 000 in 2009/10. The Mantsopa local municipality was also allocated funds of R810 000 for this financial year.
Eskom is also electrifying in Municipalities such as Setsoto (R2.09 million for 2011/12), Dihlabeng (R7,461 million for 2011/12) and Maluti-a-Phofung (R82 000 for 2011/12). This projects and connections are not available at this stage.
For this financial year R19.6 million has been allocated for Maluti-a-Phofung for 2450 new connections and for Phumelela R2.64 million for 330 connections. In addition to the original allocation of R19.6 million that was made available, an additional R20 million was allocated to Maluti-a-Phofung as part of the re-gazetting of the 2011/12 funds, hence bringing this year’s allocation to R39.6 million (2011/12). In addition the next two financial years R20 million will be allocated for each year for electrification projects in this municipality.
However, the additional funds allocated as indicated by DoE under the re-gazetting process and the next two financial years, will only be made available if the current projects are completed successfully, done according to the technical standards as agreed to between DoE and Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality, as well as to ensure that the current technical challenges experienced regarding electrification projects are being rectified.
In conclusion,
The IeC’s are not just about integration of energy services. Rather, they are primarily about integration and cooperation amongst the three tiers and structures of Government for improved (energy) service delivery to the poorest of the poor. The cooperation with government departments, such as, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Authority (COGTA), the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the Independent Development Trust (IDT)
and others is commended and encouraged to continue. However the Department of Energy recognises that there is still more that needs to be done to improve cooperation and the involvement of the provincial offices. And it is our intention to put more energy into this need as we go forward, because together we can do more.
Ke ya Leboga.
