The youth of Katlehong have explained how just a simple email can change a young person's life, as the City of Ekurhuleni launched free Wifi access to its citizens.

Yesterday, the city officially launched 250 sites and 940 hotspot where free Wifi will be available in Ekurhuleni. From Katlehong to Etwatwa, Tembisa, Nigel and Sduduza all have free access to the internet 24-hours a day.

Refiloe Dire a UJ graduate who helps students with mathematics at Katlehong's Fumana Secondary School told The Times how the lives of youth in townships could change just by getting an opportunity to send and receive emails..

“Just an email can change a young person's life. In the email you can be told to come for a job interview and the rest of your life could be changed by that job opportunities.

There is also academic support which the youth in townships will now be able to get through internet access. When preparing for exams, they can download past papers and get ready of assessments. You can also tell your friends on FaceBook that you have opened a salon and they must come. That is free marketing of the business,” Dire said.

Yesterday, Ekurhuleni executive mayor Mondli Gungubele opened one of the Wifi sites at Katlehong Library.

Ekurhuleni joined the other two metros in Gauteng, Johannesburg and Tshwane who had already connected their citizens through Wifi.

The city has spent R25-million to provide 250 megabytes to each user per day. It targets to activate 530 sites and 3000 hot spots by 2017 at a cost of R120-million.

But Gungubele said the benefits outweigh the cost and Ekurhuleni residents should not worry that basic services costs would rise to compensate for connectivity.

“Putting Wifi is not the primary cost driver in Ekurhuleni. Instead, it is revenue driver. It creates conditions that makes people to find our system user friendly, increasing the number of people paying for services[through internet].

Also the fact that it contributes to the vibrancy of our economy by creating conditions that make Ekurhuleni a preferred investment destination. It creates conditions for more revenue.

The connection of citizens through Wifi is expected to enhance Gauteng provincial government's initiative of having paperless classrooms. As more pupils receive tablets in the province, access to free internet is expected to improve, in particular, the youth's access to both business and academic information.

Once the number of users increase, the city is expected to also raise the amount of data that each individual user has per day.