Call for action against illegal electricity connections after tragic incident
A body of a man who was electrocuted, covered with a blanket.
Image: Supplied
The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has called on municipalities to intensify efforts in clamping down on illegal electricity connections, following the electrocution of a 21-year-old man.
The tragic incident happened in the Mona area outside Tongaat north of Durban on Saturday. According to a statement issued by CoGTA provincial spokesperson Senzo Mzila, the man was walking on a path between houses and accidentally trampled on live electricity wires and died. The department will not release the name of the deceased at this time out of respect for the next of kin.
"These connections are a serious threat to human life and safety. It is a tragedy that our province continues to lose innocent lives to this dangerous practice every year," read the statement.
Electricity pole with illegal connections.
Image: Supplied
Illegal electricity and water connections have been a long standing problem in municipalities, particularly in eThekwini which has many informal settlements. The practice has resulted in municipalities losing billions of rands in revenue collection.
In trying to mitigate these problems, eThekwini municipality announced electricity and water smart meters installation drive a few months ago. The City was forced to curtail water supply to households after the Water and Sanitation Department ordered Umngeni Water to stop the oversupply of water to the City. The issue was that millions of litres were unaccounted for because of illegal use by residents, particularly in informal settlements.
Last year, Eskom also announced a drive to curb the illegal use of electricity by threatening a complete black out to non-compliant households, however, many communities in rural areas are said to be still consuming electricity for free through illegal bypassing of meters with no consequences.
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) spokesperson Prem Balram said Rusa arrived on the scene and found the victim’s family.
“When interviewed, they informed reaction officers that the man had tripped on the naked wires while walking in the rain,” Balram said.
He added that paramedics and reaction officers have attended to three electrocutions as a result of illegal connections in the past 10 days.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za