City switches on lights for Tower 37 relocation families

17 August 2025

The City is proud to announce that the electricity has been switched on for the 46 families who were recently relocated from Eskom’s National Transmission Company’s (NTCSA) 37 site in Langa as part of the City’s humanitarian efforts to save lives and improve living conditions. This milestone switch-on brings safe and reliable electricity to the households of this emergency relocation site.

The switch-on follows an operation undertaken by the City recently of residents who had settled under the NTCSA pylon, which then became severely unstable due to damage and vandalism. In a massive operation, these Tower 37 residents were relocated due to the serious risk. After the Tower 37 site was successfully cleared and the affected residents were relocated to the safer site in the same area, NTCSA formally took over the Tower 37 site, specifically the land servitude, to complete the repairs and maintenance to its electricity pylon infrastructure.

‘In partnership with Eskom’s NTCSA, the South African Police Service, City contractors, and multiple City Directorates – including Human Settlements, Electricity, Safety and Security and Water and Sanitation, the City safely relocated the affected families to the nearby City-owned site.

‘Now that the homes have electricity, the families can settle in their environment with dignity. We thank the Langa community for their cooperation and understanding during this life-saving operation and the subsequent electrification process. This switch-on marks the beginning of a new chapter for the families, one where safety and access to essential services are assured, including an allocation of up to 60 units of free basic electricity (FBE) on the City’s subsidised Lifeline Tariff,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.

'We are grateful that our Energy teams acted with such urgency and dedication to provide electricity to the relocated families so soon after the emergency relocation. This electricity switch-on is more than just a City service – it brings hope, safety, and stability for the community. In the weeks before the emergency relocation, our Informal Settlement Engineering Services and Informal Settlement Management teams worked tirelessly, often in challenging conditions, to transform the vacant City-owned land into a place the families can call home. They prepared the site, laid foundations, built sturdy homes, and installed the basic services needed to restore dignity and normalcy to residents’ lives.

‘It is important to note that the site cleared by our ISM teams was handed over to Eskom NTCSA, and the responsibility for securing it lies with them. We thank residents for their support and cooperation, and all involved in this humanitarian move,' said the Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Carl Pophaim.

The Municipal Finance Management Act determines that public money cannot be used for the enhancing of private property and the City can only assist backyarders and informal settlement dwellers residing on City-owned property and where site conditions allow for this. The City continues to seek ways to invest greater resources in driving electrification projects for backyarders and residents in informal settlements, where feasible and also with Eskom, where applicable.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office