Cable theft caused an explosion at Glen Marais substation on June 8.
With a standard letter, the City of Ekurhuleni last week rejected the claims of residents for losses suffered during the seven-day power failure in June, reports Kempton Express.
Signed by Simphiwe Khumalo, claims technician insurance and risks at the metro, the letter stated:
“We have acknowledged your claim against Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.”
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“According to the information at our disposal, the proximate cause of the power outages within the Kempton Park area were as a direct result of a fire started within the Glen Marais substation. The fire had started after unknown miscreant(s) had stolen or attempted to steal cables linked to the substation.
“As soon as the City of Ekurhuleni became aware of the situation, they reacted and began to take safety precautions to extinguish the fire, clear out the debris that had been caused by the dampening down of the flames and assessing the full extent of the damage.
“It is common knowledge that water and electricity need to be handled in a completely separate manner and thus when repairs commenced, the City of Ekurhuleni had to take specific safety precautions when carrying out the repairs.
“Based on the above, the City of Ekurhuleni did everything in their power to react positively and rectify the problem as soon as it occurred.
“The City of Ekurhuleni hereby discharges itself from any claims in respect of losses or damage because of the power outages as no negligence, error or omission can be attributed to the City.
“As claimant, you are at liberty to appeal the ruling in writing but should note that the matter will only be reconsidered upon the submission of evidence that the City of Ekurhuleni had in fact acted negligently which resulted in your losses.”
This did not sit well with those who suffered losses. One resident who wanted to claim from her private insurance, abandoned it because her access amount was close to what she lost. “I must now accept this and carry on,” she said on social media.
A Birchleigh resident, who wished to remain anonymous, decided to appeal. He lost food valued at R1,000 and spent R990 on fuel for a generator he hired.
“It seems to be a bit of a coincidence to me. I am not my neighbour, situations have different values,” he said.
“The fact is that they did not act in the interest of the paying community.”
When requesting certain information to assist him with his appeal, he was stopped in his tracks.
In an email to him, which was also sent to Kempton Express, Dries van den Berg, executive manager: insurance and risks, wrote:
“From an insurance perspective, we can unfortunately not respond to your request as it would amount to subrogation of the insurer’s rights. You may, however, request information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000) directly from the head of the department of corporate and legal services or the City manager.”
The information he wanted was:
• Police case number of the reported cable theft as the metro claims (a copy of statement and affidavit).
• All maintenance records of the substation for reference that maintenance has been done.
• A complete timeline of the event.
The city manager had since responded to the resident, saying his matter had been forwarded to corporate and legal, who will guide him further.
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