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NEEDS ELECTRICITY: Nosipho Rwacaza of the Bambayi informal settlement in Snake Park, Soweto.

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NOZIPHO Rwacaza cannot wait to have electricity in her home.

Rwacaza, 47, said she was saving money to buy a cable to power her shack in the Bambayi informal settlement in Snake Park, Soweto.

"We know it is illegal, but what can we do? I have a fridge, a stove, a television and other electric appliances, but I can't use them because I do not have electricity," she said.

"My food goes rotten. I do not have a job and buying small quantities of food is more expensive. So you see, there is nothing we can do. We need electricity."

Rwacaza said illegal connections would not stop.

"We continue to connect electricity illegally because we need it and we are not getting any help from the authorities," Rwacaza said

"I have been living in this area for nine years. When I arrived there were shacks here already."

Advance Ndlovu shares a three-roomed shack with his girlfriend, Makhosazana Kubeka, their 11-year-old daughter Jabulile and his brother Lindelani.

"Many people have died in shack fires because they used braziers to warm their shacks. They forgot to take them out once they were warm and the shacks caught fire. If we had electricity, such tragic deaths could be avoided," Ndlovu said.

The couple claimed that they used a generator, but Sowetan spotted cables near their shack.

"We use a primus stove for cooking," Kubeka said, adding that Jabulile did her homework before it became dark.

But illegal connections annoy residents who pay for electricity because they say it causes power failures in the area every now and then.

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Mon May 20 06:00:00 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 19, 2012

lindsay

because it is expensive
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Apr 19, 2012

RobinH

Because millions can hardly afford food.
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Apr 19, 2012

NDA

Because you dont care about their well being.
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Apr 19, 2012

NDA

Because you have promised them lies.
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Apr 20, 2012

jimevens

ra durha gezi hey
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