PARTIALLY covered electricity boxes around the city are said to pose a huge risk – especially to children.
Several East Londoners have contacted the Daily Dispatch also said they are worried about the open expressed their concern regarding electricity boxes around the city or exposed cables on the ground.
East London electrician and owner of A1 electrical Antony le Roux (subs: corr) said he had seen hundreds of electricity boxes open to the elements around the city.
"It's a huge risk, especially if kids touch," Le Roux said.
He said that he felt the municipality could should be held criminally liable if a child was injured or electrocuted after touching the ex posed wires.
Le Roux did admitted it was a challenging situation for the municipality, as the doors to electricity junction boxes were often stolen or vandalized.
“I once caught a guy running away with one of those doors,” the electrician said.
Le Roux told the Daily Dispatch that where the newspaper to write about every exposed electricity box pictured in the paper, the Dispatch would “run out of pages”.
Resident Mike Dickson said one electricity box at the corner of French and Abalex Place was “an accident waiting to hap pen”. “The door fell off two weeks ago, and was just pushed back into place. The damaged door fell off again, and has since vanished,” Dickson said.
He added the matter had been reported to Buffalo City Metro (BCM) “to no avail”.
I refer to the attached pictures. We have contacted BCM Electricity Department on numerous occasions over the past two weeks, but to no avail.
“My concern is this is an electrical deathtrap, and it will only take some curious animal or child to show us what 300 amps of electricity can do,” he added, and said the box had been fixed yesterday.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese confirmed the ex posed electrical boxes, or “distribution boxes”, were a risk that “needs to be timeously addressed”.
“To correct known network faults, BCMM have electrical operational staff continuously repairing the damaged network,” Matebese said.
Businessman Juan Bedser also contacted the Daily Dispatch regarding an exposed electricity box off Pearce Street, which also had cables from the box lying on the ground.
“I personally find this totally unacceptable … Children walk to school each day on this route. People park right next to or on the cables.
“It takes one bad move on the road and a car could easily plough into this,” Bedser said.
Matebese said: “Our electrical operational department is also short staffed and consequently, BCMM is in the process of appointing a service provider to assist in repairing known dangerous network conditions.
“It must be highlighted that where known dangerous situations are brought to light, our internal staff timeously rectify these situations to prevent electrocution and to comply with our responsibility in terms of the Occupational Health Safety Act of 1993.”
Bedser, however, said it should be someone’s duty to maintain the units, or to at least lock them when they were finished working on them.
“Surely someone needs to take responsibility before they have to be held accountable – in court?” Bedser said.
Attorney Laila Conlon said anyone injured as a result of an electrical shock from an open electricity box could, in some cases, have grounds for a civil suit against the municipality.
She explained that, in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 (ERA), civil claims would be based on the grounds of negligence against the municipality.
“It also implies the onus is placed on the licensee ) to prove on a balance of probabilities it was not negligent, or if it was, that there was no causal link between its negligence and the loss,” Conlon said.
She added: “The difference in this respect is that the plaintiff usually has the onus of proving negligence.”
Conlon further explained that, in civil claims of negligence, a “reasonable person” test would be employed.
“Generally speaking, when electricity thieves get shocked and injured, there is usually no claim as they are knowingly and unlawfully tampering with and stealing electricity, knowing the consequences of the harm if they are shocked (seeing the warning signs on the electricity boxes), and despite all this do it anyway.”
The attorney said where children under seven years old were injured, they are assumed not to have the capacity to decide for themselves, and thus cannot be found negligent.
In response to photos of exposed electricity boxes, Conlon said she thought an injured party, if a child, would have a clear case.
“I believe that if a child was injured there would definitely be a civil claim, and in the event that it was an accident with an adult (who was not tampering or stealing), there would also possibly be a claim, even if the claim was reduced by ‘joint-negligence’ of the injured party,” she said.
Open electricity boxes in EL a threat to life
Several East Londoners have contacted the Daily Dispatch also said they are worried about the open expressed their concern regarding electricity boxes around the city or exposed cables on the ground.
East London electrician and owner of A1 electrical Antony le Roux (subs: corr) said he had seen hundreds of electricity boxes open to the elements around the city.
"It's a huge risk, especially if kids touch," Le Roux said.
He said that he felt the municipality could should be held criminally liable if a child was injured or electrocuted after touching the ex posed wires.
Le Roux did admitted it was a challenging situation for the municipality, as the doors to electricity junction boxes were often stolen or vandalized.
“I once caught a guy running away with one of those doors,” the electrician said.
Le Roux told the Daily Dispatch that where the newspaper to write about every exposed electricity box pictured in the paper, the Dispatch would “run out of pages”.
Resident Mike Dickson said one electricity box at the corner of French and Abalex Place was “an accident waiting to hap pen”. “The door fell off two weeks ago, and was just pushed back into place. The damaged door fell off again, and has since vanished,” Dickson said.
He added the matter had been reported to Buffalo City Metro (BCM) “to no avail”.
I refer to the attached pictures. We have contacted BCM Electricity Department on numerous occasions over the past two weeks, but to no avail.
“My concern is this is an electrical deathtrap, and it will only take some curious animal or child to show us what 300 amps of electricity can do,” he added, and said the box had been fixed yesterday.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese confirmed the ex posed electrical boxes, or “distribution boxes”, were a risk that “needs to be timeously addressed”.
“To correct known network faults, BCMM have electrical operational staff continuously repairing the damaged network,” Matebese said.
Businessman Juan Bedser also contacted the Daily Dispatch regarding an exposed electricity box off Pearce Street, which also had cables from the box lying on the ground.
“I personally find this totally unacceptable … Children walk to school each day on this route. People park right next to or on the cables.
“It takes one bad move on the road and a car could easily plough into this,” Bedser said.
Matebese said: “Our electrical operational department is also short staffed and consequently, BCMM is in the process of appointing a service provider to assist in repairing known dangerous network conditions.
“It must be highlighted that where known dangerous situations are brought to light, our internal staff timeously rectify these situations to prevent electrocution and to comply with our responsibility in terms of the Occupational Health Safety Act of 1993.”
Bedser, however, said it should be someone’s duty to maintain the units, or to at least lock them when they were finished working on them.
“Surely someone needs to take responsibility before they have to be held accountable – in court?” Bedser said.
Attorney Laila Conlon said anyone injured as a result of an electrical shock from an open electricity box could, in some cases, have grounds for a civil suit against the municipality.
She explained that, in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 (ERA), civil claims would be based on the grounds of negligence against the municipality.
“It also implies the onus is placed on the licensee ) to prove on a balance of probabilities it was not negligent, or if it was, that there was no causal link between its negligence and the loss,” Conlon said.
She added: “The difference in this respect is that the plaintiff usually has the onus of proving negligence.”
Conlon further explained that, in civil claims of negligence, a “reasonable person” test would be employed.
“Generally speaking, when electricity thieves get shocked and injured, there is usually no claim as they are knowingly and unlawfully tampering with and stealing electricity, knowing the consequences of the harm if they are shocked (seeing the warning signs on the electricity boxes), and despite all this do it anyway.”
The attorney said where children under seven years old were injured, they are assumed not to have the capacity to decide for themselves, and thus cannot be found negligent.
In response to photos of exposed electricity boxes, Conlon said she thought an injured party, if a child, would have a clear case.
“I believe that if a child was injured there would definitely be a civil claim, and in the event that it was an accident with an adult (who was not tampering or stealing), there would also possibly be a claim, even if the claim was reduced by ‘joint-negligence’ of the injured party,” she said.
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