Shocking laxity about public danger zone
Broken doors meant to secure an electric meter room should have been repaired months ago
A POTENTIAL death trap in Norman Tedder Lane, Empangeni, has been left unattended for the last six months.
According to a concerned tenant, the door to an electrical meter room had fallen off, exposing the live electrical equipment to the public.
The doors, meant to act as a barrier preventing the public from gaining access to the high voltage and potentially deadly equipment, are completely disintegrated.
‘Last year in Richards Bay a young child was killed when she touched an electricity box which had not been secured properly. The same thing could happen here,’ the tenant said.
A number of emails have been sent to the municipality, the first of which was dated 10 September last year, with the most recent dispatched on 7 February. However, the doors have still not been replaced.
In response, the municipality said although the metering equipment inside the room is the property of uMhlathuze Municipality, in terms of the electricity bylaws the maintenance of the meter room structure, including the doors, is the responsibility of the property owner.
In an email to the owners, Sulin Property, in October last year, the municipality advised that, ‘Since the unhindered access to the meter room by unauthorised person can lead to fatal accidents and tampering, you are requested to secure or replace the doors… within 14 days. Please note that if we have not been informed of your intentions to secure or replace the doors by 19 October 2013, the electricity supply to the premises will be isolated until the installation is made safe.’
But since then no action has been taken to rectify the problem.
At the time of going to the print, the property owners owners could not be reached for comment.
uMhlathuze Municipality official Thokozani Madikane said they would be making contact with the owners and if something has not been done by Monday (today), the electricity supply would be isolated.
