Get It - Dec 2012

Vukile Mathabela
uMhlathuze Chief
Communications Officer
Although Vukile Mathabela juggles a difficult
balancing act between the pressures of local
government and home, he still finds time to save power in his
daily routine.
‘Every morning when I leave for work, I switch off my geyser,
kitchen appliances from the plug itself including the toast
and kettle.
‘It is important to save electricity because our country does
not have enough power. My action assists others to have
electricity.’
And the uMhlathuze Chief Communications Officer says these
habits were instilled from an early age.
‘As a child, I would always switch off the lights, radio and TV
when it was not in use. I loved reading and one night I fell
asleep and left the light on the entire night. So I learnt from
my lesson.’
Vukile’s tips
• If I don’t need the air-con, I open the windows
instead
• I boil enough water just for one cup of coffee
Rekha Naidoo
uThungulu District Manager:
Public Relations and mother
of two Richards Bay
‘I don’t think that energy conservation is a choice anymore,’
says uThungulu District Public Relations Manager Rekha
Naidoo. As the cost of electricity increases each year, Rekha
admits that average households will not be sustainable if
they do not follow an energy-saving programme.
And the Richards Bay mother of two implements practical
energy saving tips at home and work. ‘At work I choose to
have my blinds open to let in natural light, which saves on
keeping the lights on. I also do not like the air conditioner
so I don’t switch it on unless it is sweltering. I also switch off
all computer equipment before leaving for the day.’
To save energy at home in the kitchen, Rekha enjoys
sharing the cooking apron with her hubby.
‘My husband loves cooking outdoors, so that’s a reduction
in stove time over the weekends and holidays. I also have a
pressure cooker to save time on cooking meals that require
long cooking times.’
Teaching her children about conserving energy, Rekha says
her two sons do not leave the phone charge and appliances
plugged in unnecessarily and switch off the television when
not in use. ‘At home, I only switch on my geyser an hour
before bath time at night and in the mornings. We have
solar-powered lights outside and in some of the rooms.
The lights that are not solar-powered are on a timer so that
there is no wastage when we are away from home. The pool
pump is on a timer as well.’
Janien Pereira
Empangeni housewife, mother
and owner of a bed and
breakfast establishment
I have always taught my daughter Trinity (8) to switch off
lights when leaving a room or when they are not needed,
but around the house we are generally electricity smart.
We also use fewer bulbs with higher wattages as well as
sensor lights at the bed and breakfast.
‘Tumble drying is a no-no unless it is absolutely necessary.
In Zululand we are not often short of sunny days so we
utilise sunshine.
‘When washing clothes or linen we use cold water and
select the shortest possible washing programme,’ she said.
When defrosting meals for guests, Janien leaves it in
the fridge overnight to thaw out and seldom uses the
microwave to cook food. She also fills the dishwasher
completely before switching it on.
Known for her great Portuguese cooking, the busy mom
never preheats the oven as she said it is not necessary
except for foods requiring high temperatures and slow
cooking times.
When it comes to heating the guest house, Janien said she
does not have a heater option on her air conditioners.
‘If guests are cold, we usually give them extra blankets,’ she
says with a chuckle.
Janien felt not enough families were energy-saving
conscious and said even though it was sometimes difficult
to switch off the geyser or remember to turn off lights, it
was worth it in the long run.
REMEMBER YOUR POWER
December 12 Get It Zululand 25