This followed after complaints regarding their tampered electricity box fell on deaf ears.
On 9 July, Wynand and Bianca Gericke returned at night to their Ruimsig home to find it in darkness. Checking for problems, they eventually found the casing of their meter box had been removed and the wiring missing. When the Gerikes informed City Power they were told that a technician would be dispatched the next day.
Two weeks later, a technician arrived in an unmarked maroon Fiat Uno. After examining the damaged box, he claimed the Gericke’s had sabotaged the meter and refused to fix it. “But he said we can arrange something, we can talk,” he said according to Wynand. “He was hinting for a bribe,” added Bianca, “Although, he didn’t say it outright.”
Wynand asked his employee Jill Marais to speak to the contractor to sort out the problem out legally but when she went outside, the contractor had already vanished. Further calls to City Power, for which they have proof and recordings, led nowhere.
“The fact is we just don’t know what else to do,” said Marais. “We don’t know where to go, or who to speak to.”
Bianca said the home business was dependant on electricity for generating an income. “Income we need to pay employees for one thing. This is threatening our, and their, livelihood.”
It seemed as if the Gerike’s are not alone. Three other electricity boxes in the street had been damaged at some stage and had wiring stolen, and it seemed unlikely that residents of an affluent area would conspire to sabotage their own meter boxes.
Roodepoort Northsider approached City Power spokesperson Sol Masolo for comment. He has escalated the matter to the appropriate authorities and an official statement from City Power should follow.
