Times Of Swaziland: LIGHTS OFF AS EARTH HOUR COMMEMORATED

LIGHTS OFF AS EARTH HOUR COMMEMORATED
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BY NONTOBEKO TSHABALALA AND TSAKASILE DLAMINI on 30/03/2014 08:03:00


MALKERNS – Swazis proved they had the power to protect the planet during Earth
Hour, commemorated at House on Fire, yesterday. People came in numbers to
participate in the event hosted by the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC). The
theme for this year’s Earth Hour was ‘Be a superhero’, with the message
being to use your power to conserve energy and the planet.
The Swaziland Environmental Authority’s Gcina Dladla was the MC for the
evening and kept the audience entertained with his ready wit which was peppered
with information about the importance of energy conservation.
“If we do not reduce energy consumption by 2050 our planet will not be able to
give us the energy we need for it to be sustainable. We hope you didn’t just
come here to participate without leaving the message for geysers, lights and
microwaves to be switched off. Together we have the power to protect our
planet,” Dladla said.
Constance van Zuydam from the Renewable Energy Association of Swaziland said she
was pleased to note how the event had grown in leaps and bounds since the first
one Swaziland participated in, in 2011. “We applaud SEC for being a true
friend to the planet and not only standing against climate change but also
encouraging us to do the same,” she said.
Van Zuydam added that the hour of being aware of energy usage and making
concerted efforts to reduce it should not be restricted to an hour but should
become a way of life. She implored industries to implement strategies for energy
efficiency measures. She further advised that Sandanezwe could be used as a
source of energy as well as solar power, wind and biogas.
SEC Managing Director Sengiphile Simelane thanked everyone for attending the
event and emphasised the importance of energy conservation stating that
currently there was a greater demand than there was the capacity to supply.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy was represented by Peterson Dlamini
who said the fact that Swaziland depended on 70 per cent of its electricity
supply from neighbouring countries was something which needed to be addressed.
“The country at this time is not electricity self-sufficient and imports about
70 per cent of its electricity from neighbouring countries. Most of it is
generated from fossils, and we all know that electricity generation from fossils
comes with environmental and health concerns,” Dlamini said.
At 8:30pm 60 volunteers were requested to make a circle around one of the fires
that were lit on the lawn and to shine the flashlights which they received in
the goodie bags provided at the door, into the sky. The significance of the
number of volunteers was the 60 minutes used to observe the event which is
commemorated all over the world.
Those in attendance were serenaded by Afro-Opera group Toti and Hip Hop Soul
artists Qibho and Sands. (See more in tomorrow’s edition)