A concerned Windsor East resident has raised the issue of open electricity boxes in the Windsor area and the danger it poses to others.
Reeva Oppert noticed and reported an open electricity box between Maude and George streets. “The electric box was standing crooked and there was no solid door on it. Wires were exposed and I could see it was dangerous.”
She suggested that the exposed wires within the box pose a dangerous risk to passing pedestrians or children.
“When I put in a complaint, I was given a reference number and when I last checked it said ‘job completed’. When I drove past it, there was a piece of cardboard tied with a black plastic bag tied around the front of the box. How could this be considered a completed job?
“There was also a time a while back where we noticed that someone had connected a wire from the box into their home to steal electricity. I also reported that and they attended to it.”
Ward 98 councillor Beverley Weweje said that this type of issue is not uncommon in the area. “This has been one of the biggest ongoing issues in our area that I have tried to get sorted out since I started as a ward councillor.
“If you drive through Windsor East and West, you will see that most covers and boxes are open. But unfortunately, it is difficult to blame the City for this as the boxes are constantly being opened up for people to steal electricity or steal the metal doors off the front to sell for scrap.”
Weweje said that both she and the ward’s urban inspector have raised this issue with the City on many occasions.
“The City works hard and timeously to fix issues like this across all wards, but literally within days it returns to the same state thanks to incidents of crime.”
Weweje added that the City has started to install tamper-proof electricity boxes in some areas of Johannesburg, and she hopes that Windsor will receive the same soon, depending on budgets.
The Randburg Sun is awaiting comment from City Power.
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