Residents of Ext 20, eMbalenhle, fear they will be electrocuted
Cokova-family has been struggling with this for about a year.
The Cokova family is living in fear of an electricity pole that is in the process of collapsing onto their shack in Ext 20, eMbalenhle. The low-hanging heavy current cable is also unsafe.
Nobuhle Cokova has to watch her three children like a hawk. She is afraid that one might be electrocuted because Govan Mbeki Municipality is not maintaining its infrastructure.
Residents are using wooden planks as props to support the pole and to keep it from completely toppling over.
A plastic container has been placed between the cable and the roof of Cokova’s shack to buffer the electrical current.
She claims an electrical current surged through the dwelling when the cable first fell on top of the shack.
According to Cokova, this has been their daily struggle for the past year. She said it has been reported to the municipality and their ward councillor, but they have only received empty promises.
“I wonder if the municipal management regards our safety as a priority or if they just don’t care what is happening to us.
“We fear that we might next victims of municipal negligence.
We often hear of someone being electrocuted or being killed by an exploding transformer,” lamented Cokova.
The situation has also caused conflict among the neighbours.
“They claim that we caused the pole to fall because the pole and cable are in our yard.”
The neighbours agreed that they are also living in fear.
Lucky Mhlongo, acting communications manager for the municipality, said they are aware of the situation and are tending to the problem.
The Govan Mbeki Municipality is attending to the backlog of falling poles with limited resources at our disposal.
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Mhlongo said overhead poles are used to distribute electricity to the entire eMbalenhle South and these poles do become skewed after a few years.
“We have mounted several poles that had posed danger to the community in several areas.
“Bad weather also contributes to this situation, but we are prioritising the process of mounting new poles,” explained Mhlongo.
“We urge community members to report any service delivery-related incident to the municipal call centre for their complaints to be resolved.
“We appreciate that residents notify us about service delivery problems. It is through reporting that the municipality is able to attend to these issues.
“The municipality apologises for the inconvenience,” said Mhlongo.
